Atomic Blonde
by Pluv143000
Summary: Andi was taught by her mother to keep everyone at an arm's length, never allowing herself to get close to get close to anyone. But, when Master Lin brings her in on the mission to retrieve Marcus Lopez Arguello, her sweet but secretive facade begins to fade. Marcus makes it his own mission to crack her porcelain exterior and reveal the real girl underneath. Even if it kills him.
1. chapter one

**CHAPTER ONE**

**[**red lips and poison chips**]**

**"part heaven, part hell"**

* * *

Andi had no idea why Master Lin pulled them all aside after AP Black Arts. Yet here they were, the ragtag group selected from a variety of the school's gangs. Like some kind of bizarro-world version of the Breakfast Club. She stood in front of Master Lin's desk along with Saya, Maria, Willie, and Billy.

"I have an assignment for you all," Master Lin stated. "Should you fail to complete it, you will be removed from King's Dominion, permanently." No one needed him to elaborate; we all knew what he meant. Lin set a photo out on his desk.

Saya stepped forward to grab the photo, examining the boy in it before passing it on to the others who had gathered around her. Master Lin continued speaking as it was passed from person to person. "The subject's name is Marcus Lopez Arguello, wanted by law enforcement for blowing up the Sunset Boy's Home where he lived, killing the other orphans inside."

"You want us to kill 'im?" Willie asked, giving the photo to Andi to look at.

The platinum blonde girl would not mind the task of killing him. Just the thought of him killing all those kids caused her blood to boil. Long ago, she had set her moral limits, and she drew the line at innocents like kids. Granted, yes, some kids could be just as psychotic as some of the students in this school, but most were not. Most were vulnerable, easy prey for the predators of the world. She would gladly give those predators a taste of their own medicine.

"No," Master Lin said, snapping Andi out of her dark thoughts. What did he mean 'no?' "I want to recruit him; therefore, I need you to bring him to me. Alive."

Andi passed the photo to Maria who looked at it and smirked, nudging the blonde's shoulder. "He's kinda cute," the Mexican beauty whispered to her blonde friend. Andi agreed to an extent. The boy was attractive, and the scar over his eye did nothing to distract from that, simply adding to the allure. It gave him that essence of danger that usually made Andi go weak in the knees. A reaction she typically refused to acknowledge as it was sure to land her in trouble someday. Now was one of those times. His appearance was not enough for Andi to forgive his past crimes.

Shortly after the group finished examining the photo, Master Lin finished giving them the information necessary to begin their search and dismissed them. The group was excused from the rest of their classes for the day in order to begin their assignment immediately.

They left King's Dominion to start their search and surveillance efforts. Saya, unsurprisingly, went for a more stealthy approach while the others stuck to more hands-on methods. As much as the group was meant to work together, their natural competitiveness with each other made them split up, the search becoming more like a game.

Thus, why Andi sauntered down the San Francisco streets on her own, heading towards the area where she knew there was a large homeless encampment. Walking past a street corner shop, she stopped in to swipe a pack of gum and a medium-sized bag of chips. Stashing the gum in her pocket and the chips under her studded jean jacket, she waited until the cashier was distracted and snuck out of the store, the cashier none the wiser about the stolen goods. As she continued her walk down the street, chewing away at a piece of Hubba Bubba, she spotted a boy, about her age, picking a half-eaten Big Mac out of the garbage. His blue jacket worn, his face coated in a layer of grime, yet she could still recognize him as the boy from the photo.

The blonde practically skipped as she approached him. Despite her previous aversion to him joining the student body of King's Dominion, she could not help the pride that swelled in her chest at being the first one to find him. As the thought crossed her mind, her eyes shot to the rooftops, looking for any sign of Samurai Saya. When there was no sign of the girl's signature dark pixie cut, Andi allowed a small smile to lift at the corners of her mouth.

Once she was only a few feet away from Marcus, she stopped. He was just about to take a bite when she spoke. "Y'know, as appetizing as that looks, I think I've got something better."

* * *

Marcus looked up from the trash-burger he was about to eat to the blonde girl in front of him. For a minute, he believed her to be an illusion, a result of accidentally ingesting some hardcore hallucinogens or possibly finally reaching a state of insanity powerful enough for such delusions.

No. She was real, standing in front of him looking like the picture of innocence, dressed in all white aside from the acid wash jean jacket. Her hair curled, falling over her shoulders with the exception of two pigtails that sat rather high on her head.

Her expression, though, contradicted her angelic appearance. A mischievous twinkle in her eyes and a smug smile on her red-painted lips could make any guy think sinful thoughts.

It was then that Marcus realized he had yet to respond to her, having been staring at her like an idiot. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he matched her smug smile with a sarcastic smile of his own. "I don't know if there's anything that can beat a meat-like patty with a hint of stranger's saliva."

The blonde's smile grew. "I admit you make a good point. But, I bet I can prove you wrong," she answered, tossing him a bag of chips.

He managed to catch it, setting the burger back into the garbage. Getting over the initial act of kindness, he became suspicious of the girl. No one ever gave a shit unless they got something out of it in return. Call it cynicism. Call it paranoia, whatever. "So, what? Is this your charitable act for the month? So you can go back to your cushy rich life, believing that you saved some homeless kid from getting AIDS from a trash-burger or some shit."

"No," she replied, jokingly. "You can't get AIDS from saliva, idiot." Her eyes drifted over his shoulder, looking at something behind him. She pursed her red lips together, drawing his eyes to them once again. By the time his eyes lifted to hers again, she was looking back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, as enlightening as this conversation has been, I gotta go," she said, starting to walk past him.

"Wait," he said, causing her to stop and turn back to him. "What's your name?" He was not sure why he cared. He was not even sure if it mattered, it was not like they would ever see each other again; this girl who was part heaven, part hell.

"Why does it matter?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at him and voicing his thoughts. He stayed quiet because he did not know how to answer that, wondering the same thing. She sighed turning to face him fully, the mischievous glint present yet again in her blue, doll-like eyes. "Besides, how do I know you aren't some kind of psycho who will hunt me down and kill me?"

Marcus laughed at her dark humor. Yet another characteristic that was contradictory with her appearance. "How do I know that you aren't some psycho sadist that poisons chips and gives them to homeless people?" he countered, shaking the still unopened bag for her to see.

"You don't," she answered, turning to leave again. He watched as she reached the corner of the street and practically danced to the other side in her white Keds. She met up with another girl, physically, the polar opposite of the blonde.

Looking down to the bag in his hands, he thought about her words. 'You don't,' she had said to him. Considering he had nothing to lose and the likelihood of some random blonde trying to poison his chips being rather low, he opened the bag and took a bite. It had been so long since he had something fresh and not from the garbage. The crispness was refreshing and he never thought he would want to moan from eating a damn potato chip.

When he looked back up, the angelic girl and her friend were gone, and he was back to being just another face in the crowd.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking?" Maria asked Andi. "You shouldn't have approached him without one of us as backup," the Latina continued, although it lacked the scolding tone that Andi expected more from Saya, or even Simon if he was on the mission with them.

"I was fine," the blonde reassured her friend. Well, they were as close to friends as Andi allowed. The blonde did not really have friends. Her mother had conditioned her in a way that ensured her daughter would drown in trust issues for the rest of her life. "It's not like I went up to him and tried to kidnap him right there. I was just getting a read on what he's like."

Maria sighed before turning to Andi with a crooked smile. "And what _was_ he like? As cute as the picture? Cuter? Please don't say less. That would be such a disappointment."

"Alright, yes, he's hot. Well, as hot as a child killer can be." But, there was no way that Andi would admit for a second that she found his dry sense of humor attractive and how his carefree smile when he laughed at her macabre joke gave her the tiniest of butterflies. No, she would never admit that. It was not true. "After this assignment, I'll be glad to not talk to him again."

Andi truly believed that. Psychopaths were supposed to be alluring in a sense. It is how they could draw you in. Psychopaths were not just serial killers and crazy people. They were everyday people too. Businessmen, politicians, teachers. Despite the grime covering him, Andi could admit that, physically, Marcus was hot. However, if there was any type of person she mistrusted more than the others, it was attractive people who could draw you in. Hell, she was one. She would know.

"I don't know," the Latina drawled, her accent becoming slightly heavier. "You seemed pretty chummy to me."

"You know me, unassuming as always. I think I may have been an actress in another life." The dark-haired girl laughed. "The guy is definitely paranoid though, so we'll have to be careful going forward. Having the police on his ass probably doesn't help that. I'll have to hang back now or he'll recognize me, but the rest of you should be good to follow closely."

The two girls met up with the rest of the group, informing them of what Andi had learned before they split up again. Since they found Marcus, they did not have to venture as far from each other as before. Just far enough apart that their group did not draw any unnecessary attention.

As it grew darker, Billy pointed out that Marcus was heading towards the Day of the Dead parade. Normally, a parade where everyone was wearing face paint and masks would not be an issue. But, with parades came increased police presence, and police spelled troubled for their mission.

This guy was not making it easy for them.

Willie, Billy, and Maria stayed on the ground, integrating themselves into the crowd. Saya and Andi kept watching from farther away.

"Shit," Andi cursed, watching Marcus pick up a discarded joint from the ground. She watched as he took a hit and seconds later began stumbling.

"What?" Saya asked, coming to her side.

Andi sighed in irritation. "The joint was laced with something. Look at how he's walking now. And he's stumbling right into the crowd." The blonde forced herself to look away from the guy, looking to Saya with a serious expression. "I think it's time to get your bike."

"On it," the Japanese girl said, as she made her way down from the rooftop, Andi shortly behind her.

If Marcus caused her to fail this mission, she was going to gut him before Lin could even think about offing her.

* * *

**First chapter being published as I watch episode 4! I don't quite know how I feel about it, but let me know what you think. **

**I have about half of the next chapter written and I'm going to try to get it updated tomorrow. Sorry if this sucks! I've been up for 32 hours with about 3 hours of sporadic naps in between.**

**Heads up about next chapter though, there will be mentions of suicide as was in the show but the conversation will be much darker as we dive into Andi's personality a bit more. She can be a bit of a sick fuck sometimes...**


	2. chapter two

**CHAPTER TWO**

**[**macabre details**]**

**"you gonna jump or what"**

● **warning: dark conversations; talk of suicide/suicide attempts** ●

* * *

Andi rode on the back of Saya's motorcycle as they followed Marcus into the parking garage. Maria and Billy had helped to distract the cops, but only for a moment before they were right back on his tail. The two girls had to be quick about it to get him out of there. Saya would take him away, while Andi escaped with the rest of the group.

The blonde wrapped her arms tighter around Saya's waist as she sped up, trying to close the distance. Andi was honestly surprised at how fast the guy could run, and how he managed to keep running for so long. She supposed the disorientation from the drugs caused his adrenaline to skyrocket even more than usual at the prospect of being caught.

Saya was finally able to catch up to him, skidding to a stop when he did, realizing he could not outrun them any longer. As soon as the bike came to a stop, Andi dismounted and approached Marcus. Dressed in the same outfit from earlier, she knew it would be easy for him to recognize her.

"You," he said shakily, confirming her suspicions.

"Get on," Andi said, moving aside and gesturing to her previous seat on the bike. Marcus started to lower his hands from his cowering position when the police pulled up behind Saya.

The four officers exited their vehicles, guns drawn and aimed at the three teenagers. "Police! Don't move! Put your weapons on the ground!" the one officer shouted.

Saya dismounted as well, taking her katana and leaning it against the bike. She raised her hands in the air, Andi doing the same. However, as Andi stayed in her spot near Marcus, Saya began to approach the officers.

As the officer went to arrest her, she attacked. Throwing her shurikens into the lights and causing sparks to fall around them, she continued her assault. Andi turned back to Marcus, figuring Saya had it handled. If she needed help, she would say something.

"Get up," Andi said, grabbing his arm.

"Were you following me?" he asked, voice filled with confusion. Andi did not answer though. Instead, she waved to Willie and Billy approaching them.

Willie yanked a sack over Marcus's head, securing it so it would not come off. Together, the three of them moved him to Willie's car, which was not easy considering he resisted the whole time. Andi was glad she managed to tie his wrists together before he really started flailing, however that did not stop a well-placed kick to her stomach when she attempted to lift his legs.

Those knots though, a Navy Seal would be proud of those knots.

Maria met them at the car as they dumped him in the truck. "Nice disguise," Andi joked, gesturing to the face paint Maria was sporting. "Did you have fun?"

"Always," the Latina girl replied with a grin, slamming the trunk shut.

They loaded into the car, Saya following behind them. On the ride back to the butcher shop, Andi helped Maria rid her face of the makeup. They pulled around the back, seeing as they could not exactly bring some guy they kidnapped through the front door. Saya and Maria helped the guys bring him in and secure him to a chair while Andi went to get Master Lin.

The first part of their task was complete. Now, they just had to convince him to stay. Andi curled her lip in disgust at the thought of sharing air with a child killer, but it was what Master Lin wanted. And she was going to pass this mission. Marcus Arguello would not be the death of her if she had any say in the matter.

* * *

Marcus finally stopped struggling when he realized he was not going anywhere. Secured to the chair, he listened to the voices around him, trying to pick out a particular voice.

"Don't look like no psychopath to me," one masculine voice said.

"Can't judge a book by its cover," a feminine voice replied. It was not hers. The girl from the street earlier that day. He recognized her immediately when she pulled up on the back of the motorcycle. Innocent appearance still intact, but gone was the playful, mischievous aura she gave off. Instead, it was replaced with a steely gaze and serious tone as she attempted to manhandle him and then kidnap him. Maybe he _should_ have been more wary about the chips she gave him.

"But you can judge on by its smell," another guy spoke up just as the bag was ripped off his head.

Marcus looked at the four teenagers standing in front of him. "He _is_ cute," the Latina girl commented. As his eyes glanced over at her, he realized she was the friend the angelic girl had met up with. Marcus realized he might have to come up with a different adjective to describe her; angelic just did not fit anymore.

"Yeah. Total 'Hobo Fancy' cover boy material," the guy with the green Mohawk replied to her.

The other guy in the room spoke up, cutting off the playful banter. "What do you say, mad dog? You the psycho that did the boys' home massacre?"

Having had enough of the bullshit going on around him, Marcus snapped back, "Pretty tough barking at a dude tied to a chair."

"Untie this punk-ass bitch."

The green-haired kid stepped forward, flipping his butterfly knife around. "All right, but my money's on Hepatitis Harry."

Just then, an older Asian man walked into the room holding a teacup, causing everyone to step back and let him through. "Forgive my students," the man started. "They forget that viciousness serves only to make them look weak."

Marcus only focused on him for a second before his eyes were drawn to the girl behind him. It _was_ her. Seeing her here only quelled his questioning mind that thought maybe, just maybe, this time she actually had been a drug-induced hallucination or a figment of his imagination from the paranoia. He always seemed to think she was an illusion. She was just unreal, even now with her white clothing immaculate against the grungy butcher shop.

"Billy, if you'd be so kind," the man said and the kid with the green hair cut the ropes holding Marcus back. The man came to sit in front of him while the blonde girl hung back, leaning against the wall, her eyes meeting his. "Are you satisfied with your life?" he asked.

"Yeah," Marcus answered, a sarcastic tone obvious in his words as he rubbed at his wrists. "I eat trash and I sleep in piss. Everything according to plan."

The Asian girl from the motorcycle stepped towards him only to be held back. "Speak to Master Lin with respect," she snapped.

"Master Lin can eat my shit," the homeless teen quipped back. His eyes met the blonde's again. She looked thoroughly unamused with the situation as if she would rather be anywhere else. Marcus could not blame her. He would also rather be anywhere else, but he supposed he had her to thank for his current position so he did not exactly sympathize with her. Looking back at Master Lin, he spoke up. "Who the hell are you people?"

"What's important is that we know who you are, Marcus," Master Lin continued, ignoring his question. "And that we know what you've done. You're a killer. Few value this particular proficiency, but I do. What if I told you there's a home for people like you? A school where you can be surrounded by your peers."

Marcus gave the man a sardonic smile. "Only what? I dress up like a Viking so you can take tasteful pictures?"

"I'm offering you a chance to harness that fire inside you. To master the deadly arts."

Marcus nodded, looking away, "The deadly arts, yeah. That, uh, that sounds great." He grabbed his backpack from the ground next to him. He was glad they brought it, as it contained everything he owned, which was not much. "You know," he started again, looking around at the group. "This all seems really sane and normal, and y'all look like a fun bunch, but, uh whatever this is..." he trailed off. Moving past everyone, he went to leave. "Later, days." He ran into the black kid and swiped his wallet as he left, making eye contact with the blonde one last time. He believed they would never run into each other again, yet here they were. Only this time, there was no smiling and cracking jokes.

* * *

Andi watched as Marcus shoved past Willie. She also saw him pickpocket the wallet off the taller boy. Not many may have caught the act, but from Andi's position, she had a front-row seat. She supposed it was something he must have picked up after his parents were killed, remembering what Master Lin had informed them of earlier. Wonder what other hidden talents he has, she thought.

Willie commented on his missing wallet and Andi could not help the small smirk that formed on her lips. It _was _at least a little funny. "Afraid he's gonna use the condoms you had stashed for Brandy Lynn?" the blonde muttered under her breath for just Willie to hear. He shot her a dark look before Master Lin turned towards her.

"You found him first the last time," the older man stated. "Find him. Bring him back, or don't bother coming back at all."

He was testing her. He was _always _testing her, trying to push her to be the best. Like her mother.

Andi knew her mother and Master Lin were very well acquainted. Lorraine had even been offered a position to teach at the school but turned it down knowing that despite the lethal skills of the student body, her daughter was safe there. If Lorraine came to teach and settle in one place, her enemies would not be far behind. And enemies was something she had plenty of. She was not willing to risk her daughter's life again.

With a huff, the blonde girl pushed herself off the wall and left through the butcher shop, trying to figure out where Marcus went. She wandered the city for a bit on Saya's motorcycle, which she borrowed... without asking. She drove by where she had run into Marcus earlier and by the homeless encampment with no sign of him.

"Think, Andi, think," she whispered to herself. After a minute, it hit her. Coit Tower. It was where Barbara Salinger leaped to her death, killing herself and Marcus' parents. As soon as she thought of it, she sped off.

Parking at the base, she saw the silhouette of someone standing in the arches at the top. Andi quickly made her way to the top. She stood in the shadows, watching him as he looked out from the edge of the tower. He had not heard her come up; he had no idea she was there.

"So, are you gonna jump or what?" she spoke up, letting him know she was there.

He startled back, "Jesus Christ!" She watched the realization cross his face when he saw her. "What the hell?" Well, that was a loaded question, Andi thought.

"You're going to have to be more specific, Marcus." There was no point in not using his name. He knew that she was aware of who he was and what he did; she always had been.

"You stalking me or something?"

Andi approached him and leaned on the side of the archway. "Oh, no. I just also enjoy coming up here to contemplate throwing myself over the edge. I mean, at this height, it's probably the most efficient way of killing yourself. Definitely beats a bullet to the brain. That is _way _too easy to fuck up. I'll spare you the macabre details." Marcus looked at her as if she was crazy. She probably was, at least a little. "That is what you were planning on doing, right? Taking that final step and letting the ground rush up to meet you. Letting your corpse paint a pretty picture on the sidewalk for the public to see. Maybe you'll scar some kid for life, just like you were."

Her blasé way of speaking about such a dark subject made him uncomfortable. She could tell. Or maybe it was the lack of emotion in her face, her eyes. Her appearance may be angelic, but her soul had blackened over time.

The comment referring to what happened to his parents, however, pushed him over the line. "Stop talking about shit you don't know anything about," he sneered at her.

Andi held her hands up in surrender. "You're right. I'm sorry." She genuinely was, even if it did not show.

Marcus stared at her, jaw clenched in frustration. His private moment ruined. "Why did you even come here?"

The blonde wasted no more time. "Master Lin sent me to bring you back." She left out the risk she faced if she failed. He would not sympathize with her at this point and she knew it. She had played him.

"Of course, Master Lin, right. What if I say no? What if I finish what I came here to do and jump?" he goaded her.

Andi sighed in frustration, holding her hands out to her side. "Do what you want. I'm not gonna stand here and baby you and beg you not to jump, okay?" She walked closer to him so that she was directly in front of him. It left her vulnerable. If he wanted to, he could throw _her_ from the tower. "But, obviously, you've been through some shit. I may not understand what you've been through exactly but now is your opportunity to change that. This isn't the end of the line Marcus. It's the beginning. A new beginning for you to start over and finally take control of your life. Now, you can choose to jump, or you can choose to come with me where you could have the opportunity to fight and thrive, not just survive." She offered him her hand.

She thought for a moment that maybe she was too harsh, that maybe a gentler approach would have worked better. If he chose to jump, then she might as well follow him, as there was no way she would face Master Lin after this. Her strategy had been to motivate him through anger, which he obviously had a lot of. Why did Master Lin send her? Saya or Maria would have been a much better choice, she was sure of it. Her bedside manner was lacking, to say the least.

The anger receded from Marcus, replaced by sadness. He was alone and had nothing going for him; this offered him an out to the shit-storm his life had become. She watched as he looked out towards the city. His eyes were not looking down at the ground like before. The blonde took that as a good sign that he was thinking about her offer more than he was thinking about jumping. His gaze shifted to her outstretched hand and he stared at it for a moment.

Then, finally, he took it.

* * *

**As I said in the author's note last chapter, Andi is kinda a sick fuck and also an asshole. She lacks a certain finesse when it comes to serious social interaction. Not everyone is as cool with her bullshit as she is. But, that's what character development is for.**

**She and Marcus are going to be the epitome of a love/hate relationship, being both a slow burn and a fast burn, if that makes any sense. Their problems with themselves and each other are bountiful.**

**Next chapter, you guys will get to hear some of Marcus' perspective on this encounter, as I am trying to write in third person limited, as well as meet my other favorite asshole, Simon.**

**Lastly, as the warning said, the topics in this chapter were very dark and serious. Suicide is no joke. If you need help and someone to talk to, PLEASE contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at:**

**1-800-273-8255**

**You are never alone and there is always someone who cares.**

**I love all of you!**


	3. chapter three

**CHAPTER THREE**

**[**asserting dominance**]**

**"i don't know"**

* * *

Marcus did not understand why he took this girl's hand. She came to the top of Coit Tower, following him yet again, only to make him feel like complete shit before giving him another chance to take Master Lin's offer. She obviously did not care about him and if he jumped, so why was she so adamant about him coming back with her instead of letting him end it all.

The conversation on top of the tower only served as a stark contrast to their previous one-on-one encounter. She had been so playful then, her black humor about the chips seemed less humorous now that he had an idea of what she was truly capable of.

But, for some reason when she stood out on that ledge with him, he did not feel alone for the first time since his parents were killed. As he looked into her steely blue eyes, he saw a twinkle of something. Not the mischief he once saw, more like she was mirroring his own emotions of desperation and grief.

She released his hand and the two made their way back down the tower and to the motorcycle waiting for them. "I never did get your name," Marcus mentioned as he climbed on behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Andi," she answered curtly. Starting up the bike, she looked back at him and for the first time that night, she did something that reminded him of the girl that gave him the bag of chips; she gave him a small smirk. "Hold on."

Gunning it, the bike took off and instinctively Marcus tightened his hold on the blonde's waist. Andi's waist, he corrected in his mind, now having a name for the face. Not too long after, Andi parked the bike down the street from the butcher shop. It had started to rain on the way, the cool water soaking through their clothes.

Andi took it upon herself to give him a basic rundown as they approached the butcher shop. She continued to lead the way put stopped when the Asian girl from earlier stood in front of them. "You stole my bike," the other girl stated.

"'Stole' is a strong word, Saya. I brought it back, didn't I? I believe that's called 'borrowing.'" Andi replied.

"Did you ask to use it?" Saya retorted.

"Well, no…"

"Then you stole it," Saya cut her off.

Andi simply shrugged in response, walking ahead of the two. "Whatever. You can finish the whole spiel if you want."

Saya rolled her eyes at the blonde before walking after her. Marcus was quick to follow the two. "Master Lin has a basic code of conduct. There is one thing you cannot do. Give up our location, and we will kill you."

They entered the butcher shop, the green-haired kid from earlier was standing at the door.

"Like, full-on 'Conan the Barbarian' style. Like, you will be eviscerated. Lin's family has been eviscerating people for centuries. They really love it," he told Marcus.

"You know who else will be eviscerated? You, Billy, if you don't give me back my knife," Andi snipped, holding her hand out. Billy pulled the butterfly knife he used to cut Marcus free out of his back pocket and gave it to the blonde. "Thank you," she said with a sweet smile, her personality flipping like a switch.

From there, Andi was all smiles, giving the black guy whose wallet he stole a playful nudge as she continued through the shop and disappeared behind the plastic curtain. The same guy backed up Billy's comments, "Lin don't flex. Got a worldwide rep to maintain."

Saya continued giving Marcus the breakdown. "The rest of the rules are simple. No disobedience, no drugs, and no sex," she finished as they entered the back room.

"We find ways around the last one," the Latina girl, sitting at the table added. She was also incredibly attractive. What was it with the girls at this school, Marcus thought for a minute.

"Hell, yeah we do," Andi added, her and the Latina displaying matching mischievous smiles. "Truthfully, we find ways around all of it. The trick is strategic planning so you don't get caught."

"Well, hopefully not in here," Marcus added, glancing around the meat storage room. He saw Andi out of the corner of his eye scrunch her nose in disgust at the thought.

"Ew, gross. Of course not."

The group of teenagers stood around, all looking on at Marcus. He shuffled anxiously, "What is this?"

A door opened as if to answer his question. A hooded figure entered and waited as Saya actually answered him. "Welcome to King's Dominion."

* * *

After the eventfulness of the previous day, Andi was glad to get a full night's sleep and not worry about Marcus Lopez Arguello. As the petite blonde grabbed her supplies for AP Black Arts and Poison Lab, she did not notice the figure approaching her.

"What's up, buttercup?" Simon greeted in his light London accent, leaning against the locker beside her. "You disappeared after Black Arts yesterday. Where'd you go?"

Andi turned toward him and sighed, "Master Lin had us retrieving the new kid."

"Ah, right. The orphanage massacre guy," Simon nodded. "He's been the talk of the school and it's been less than twenty-four hours since he got here."

"I am very aware of how long it's been. Can we, like, not talk about him? The day just started and I am already exhausted of the subject." Slamming her locker shut, she walked with Simon to their first class. Like Maria, Simon was about the closest to a friend Andi allowed herself to have. She and Saya were close too, but Andi clicked better with Simon and Maria. She and Saya were too alike sometimes that if they had it their way, they would just brood together.

"Jesus, it's his first day and you already hate him. It's the kid killer thing, right?" Andi hated how transparent she was to him sometimes. "That's okay. You don't have to answer. I already know I'm right, as usual."

"Shut up," the blonde scolded jokingly, giving Simon a light smack on the arm.

Simon chuckled at her. The light atmosphere was interrupted however as they saw Marcus having a volatile confrontation with Chico, Maria's boyfriend.

Andi wished she could put a bullet between Chico's eyes. She constantly wanted to intervene in the abuse he subjected Maria too but Maria always talked her out of it. Simon shared the same sentiment. Although he also had a pant-busting crush on the Latina beauty and had since the minute he laid eyes on her. Sometimes Andi thought about how much better off Simon and Maria would be if they were together. She could tell the other girl liked him too, but her relationship with Chico was keeping her down. Like an anchor, drowning her and refusing to let her reach the light of the surface.

However, Andi also knew that, despite what everyone else may think, Chico was not a god. He was human; flesh and blood like everyone else. Maria was fully capable of offing the psycho herself. She just did not have the confidence and the right amount of drive to do it… yet. Andi still had faith she could though. The blonde convinced Simon of that too, not wanting him to act out emotionally and get slaughtered by the Soto Vato leader.

"Tonight, me and you are going on a date," Chico spat at Marcus. "Wear something nice. We're going to bury you in it." The Latino cartel legacy then ripped a thermos from Billy's hand and proceeded to dump its contents over Marcus' head.

Whatever her feelings were towards Marcus, Chico would always be the number one enemy to her. He pulled Maria with him, but not before the Mexican girl made eye contact with Andi and Simon as if to warn them to let it go.

"I wish I could off that asshole already," Simon muttered to her, jaw and fists clenched in anger.

Andi placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "He'll get what's coming to him. We just gotta be smart about it."

He nodded reluctantly and they continued on to AP Black Arts. Sitting in their usual seats—Andi to the left of Brandy and Simon on the other side of the platinum blonde and in front of Victor—they waited for the rest of the class to file in. Just as Master Lin was about to start his lecture, the door opened and slammed shut again. Everyone turned to see who was running late.

Marcus walked in, looking a little uncomfortable at the attention. He had obviously cleaned himself up, no longer being covered in Billy's juice or whatever the hell it was. When he started to walk towards her, Andi became confused. Why is he… her thoughts trailed off.

"Looks like you're not escaping the subject any time soon," Simon whispered to her, gesturing to the empty seat behind her. Of course, he was sitting directly behind her. That was her luck.

"Hey," Marcus greeted her with a small smile, but she ignored him. Luckily, it was not _that_ obvious that she was ignoring him as Master Lin began speaking.

AP Black Arts was far from her favorite subject. She much preferred the hands-on learning of Poison Lab and the combat classes. Sitting in a lecture felt like a slow death to her, despite how interesting the material may be. The blonde often ended up taking notes out of boredom, the task keeping her awake.

The lesson was almost finished when she saw Brandy lean over and hand something to Marcus after Master Lin had passed by them. Suddenly, Master Lin turned and swung his cane down on Marcus' desk. The older man ceased his lecture and approached the new student.

"Sorry, I was just—," before he could finish, Master Lin swung his cane at Brandy. It hit the southern girl's nose with a sickening crack.

Andi turned to look at the crazy bitch, reflex tears leaking from her eyes as she held her bleeding face. The petite girl heard a few chuckles from her left and knew that both Simon and Victor were having trouble keeping themselves together.

Even she had to bite her lip to keep a bubble of laughter down.

Master Lin continued his lecture as if the whole ordeal did not even happen. Brandy, however, recovered quickly to Andi's dismay, the curly-haired blonde looking back at Marcus and sensually licking her bloody fingers.

Nazi whore, Andi thought. She turned to look over her shoulder at Marcus who was reading the note she passed him. When he set in on his desk, Andi read what it said.

_You're dead mutt_, decorated with some lovely red swastikas.

Marcus met her gaze and she rolled her eyes at the drama surrounding the boy already. He was going to have his work cut out for him here. Everyone would be desperate to assert their dominance to the new Rat. Dixie Mob was relatively harmless, generally just major pain-in-the-asses. Soto Vato was a whole other can of worms.

"Your homework tonight, half your semester grade, will tell me who you really are. Use your training. Search the city for a worthy target. Someone you think deserves to die, and kill them." The bell rang and everyone began to gather their materials. "Discard the body, hide all evidence. Bring me proof."

Andi and Simon left, heading in opposite directions as they did they not share their next class. They would meet back up at lunch to discuss the new assignment. The blonde already had someone in mind to kill, someone who deserved it. But, there was no way he was in San Francisco. Even if he was, he was smart and she would not be able to track him down in such a short period of time.

Simon always had a backup plan though. It was practically in his DNA. They would find someone worthy of death. An abuser, a victimizer to off, and she held no qualms about doing so.

* * *

Simon could see how distracted Andi was as they sparred on the mats in hand-to-hand combat. She kept looking anywhere but her target, which was supposed to be him. First, she kept glancing over his shoulder at Billy and Victor's fight.

He was not the Russian brute's biggest fan. In fact, they constantly butted heads, even over the stupidest shit. Victor was a proud Soviet and Simon was the son of a renowned agent of MI6. From that fact alone, it was easy to see why they would clash.

Billy's comments towards Victor, however, were not just influencing his own fight.

Simon smacked Andi upside the head rather roughly. Her attention snapped back to him, a pissed off look on her face.

"What the fuck?" she snapped at him.

"Pay attention," he replied seriously. "Next time, I won't just smack you. I'll put you on your ass."

Unfortunately, for Andi, she did not listen. This time her focus was on another fight. Ironically, it was the fight Simon was avoiding looking at. Every once in a while, she would sneak a glance in Maria and Marcus' direction.

"Funny," he said, grabbing her attention again. She tried to make it seem as if her attention had always been on their fight, despite him knowing better than that. "You look over at Marcus quite a lot for someone who hates the guy. I mean, I've had a thing for Maria since we both started attending here, and even I've managed to not look longingly over at her for the entirety of the class."

"How do you know I wasn't looking at Maria too?" she quipped.

He scoffed. Did she really think him to be so easily fooled? "I know you were. You were watching her flirt with Marcus. I know because it's the exact reason I _haven't_ been looking over there."

"Please. You and I both know she's just setting him up to go after Chico. She's tried it before, she'll try it again. Marcus just might actually be dumb enough to believe her," she replied, changing the subject.

"Nice try, Andi. Wanna try the truth this time and answer my question?"

She gave him a wry smile. "You didn't ask a question."

"Okay then, let me rephrase. Why do you keep staring at the new kid when you apparently hate him?"

He could see her struggling to answer. "I don't know," she whispered. It was a weak answer, but he did not push it. She looked over one last time and this time he let himself look over too.

The four teenagers all made eye contact. Andi with Marcus and Simon with Maria. The Latina gave him a quick flirty wink. It was not the first of such exchanges. He quickly turned back to Andi who still looking at Marcus. The Londoner grabbed her, catching her off guard and flipped her over his shoulder.

"Dick," she groaned from the ground looking up at him.

"You weren't paying attention. I told you what would happen." As he walked away to grab a drink, she kicked out at him. Jumping out of the way, he chuckled, "Better luck next time."

* * *

**I am just cracking these shorter chapters out! I'm pretty proud of myself for the amount of content I've been producing lately. I must be inspired. I hope that the quality is as good as the quantity.**

**The last scene from hand-to-hand combat I thought of at the last minute. I thought that Simon's longing for Maria combined with Andi's… whatever towards Marcus made Maria's remarks that much more substantial. She says how guys always want girls they can't have, and while in the show Marcus is looking at Saya, here he is looking at Andi and Simon is looking at her as she says it.**

**She and Simon are gonna be so cute and yet simultaneously tragic, I can't.**

**Let me know what you guys thought about the chapter. I am going to try and update tomorrow too but I'll be driving seven hours back home where I work so I don't know if I'll have the time or feel up to it. But, I'll definitely try! I swear!**


	4. chapter four

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**[**kid killer**]**

"**don't test me, **_**rat**_**"**

* * *

Andi loved Poison Lab. Correction. She loved Denke. Not in a weird, romantic way, but in a he's-my-favorite-teacher-I-hang-on-his-every-word sort of way. Denke had a way of engaging the class in a way none of the other teachers could, aside from DeLuca, possibly. Even then, Denke was more approachable than DeLuca which Andi supposed was an odd thing to think of in a school where everyone was capable of killing you.

There was only one thing Andi did not like about Poison Lab: it was one of the only classes she did not have with Simon, her go-to partner.

Although, she supposed there were now two things she did not like about Poison Lab. The second being that Marcus now occupied the previously empty seat in front of her. Was this kid going to be in every single one of her classes? Did Master Lin do this on purpose? Andi was just glad that she had Maria in this class as her partner and was not forced to be partners with Marcus too.

"In this case, the victim dies in a spectacularly nasty fashion, as blood seeps from every orifice," Denke taught from the front of the room. "Prepare your poison, students. We will be killing these animals in two minutes."

Just as Andi was turning toward Maria to begin their assignment, Billy turned around catching the blonde girl's attention. She and Billy did not speak often, his status as a Rat keeping them from ever being as close as her and Maria or her and Simon. Andi did not have an issue with him though. From what she knew he was a pretty nice guy, maybe even too nice for this school.

"Hey, hello? Andi, be rad. Get Viktor's attention for me," he asked with a large grin.

Andi shared a look with Maria. The Latina shrugged and gave her a small smile, encouraging Andi to help Billy. The blonde girl wanted more information though. "Why? Why can't you get _him_ to do it?" She retorted, gesturing to Marcus.

"Because Viktor likes you. It would work better, trust me," Billy pressed.

Andi did not trust him though. She did not trust anyone. However, as the blonde looked at Billy's broken arm from hand-to-hand combat, she realized she did not have to trust him to make Viktor's life a little difficult for the next hour. The Soviet did not know how to take no for an answer, something Andi had told him multiple times only for him to ignore. She also knew that Simon would probably love whatever was about to happen. So, she agreed.

"Fine," Andi huffed, trying not to smile at Billy's smile, which had somehow gotten bigger.

"What are you gonna do?" Maria asked.

Andi turned to the Mexican beauty, "You'll see. Subtlety is key."

The blonde knocked her pen off her desk, just far enough that it fell at Viktor's feet. "Viktor," she whispered to the Russian boy, trying to get him to turn towards her. He did and she continued, plastering a fake, sweet smile on her face. "I'm so clumsy sometimes. I dropped my pen and it landed by your seat. Can you grab it for me?"

Viktor immediately dawned a dopey smile back at the blonde. "Of course," he obliged quickly. He bent down to get her pen and hand it back to her. Meanwhile, Petra grabbed his can of cola and held it out for Billy to contaminate with whatever concoction he had put together. Andi plucked the pen from his hand, but as he was turning back, she realized Petra was still returning the can. She let her hand linger for a second longer, bringing his attention back to her. "Thank you," she over-exaggerated, although the Soviet was convinced.

When Andi sat straight on her stool again, she and Maria shared a small laugh at the situation. The Latina leaned over and whispered to the blonde, "You know, Viktor was not the only boy you have mesmerized. Marcus could not take his eyes off of you."

"Please," Andi scoffed, disbelieving.

"It's true, but believe what you want. I know what I saw," Maria insisted.

Andi did not let herself dwell on the idea. She did not even like Marcus, so why was she letting him consume her thoughts so much? Luckily, other things soon took precedence when she, and probably everyone else in the room, heard a loud gurgling from Viktor before he stood up abruptly.

"Sit down, Viktor," Denke ordered him.

The Russian did not listen though. "I must use lavatory," he tried, face getting red as he resisted what his body was telling him to do.

"I said, sit down!" Denke shouted. Viktor remained standing. "Do it! Sit!" This time Viktor listened, face completely red.

Andi and Maria were holding back their laughter, hands covering their mouths along with Billy and Marcus. The four of them and Petra were the only ones who knew the whole story. Andi did not regret her involvement at all. Simon would die when he heard.

* * *

"What about them?" Marcus asked as he watched Andi enter the cafeteria with the brown-haired guy from earlier.

Billy followed where Marcus' eyes were looking, "Oh, young man's got his eye on Andi. Mmm. Honestly, I don't know that much about her. No one does. We don't even know if Andi is her real name, it's just what she has everyone calls her. Aside from that, she's a ghost. The conversation in Poison Lab was one of the longest I've ever had with her. She's got, like, split personalities or something. One minute, she's sweet, the next, she's one hundred percent bitch."

"Yeah, I noticed," Marcus commented, remembering his previous encounters with the blonde. "What about the guy with her? Is that her boyfriend or something?"

Billy laughed. "Hell no. That's just Simon. He's with the Preps. Since Andi is not affiliated with any particular group, Simon is trying to get her to join them. She's quite the hot commodity, on top of being well… hot."

The two boys watched as Andi sat at her own table, by herself, and said goodbye to Simon who went on to join the other Preps. "She sits by herself?"

"No affiliation gives her a certain loneliness and freedom that not everyone here is cut out for," the green-haired boy answered.

Just then, Andi looked over at the two. Marcus sent her a sarcastic smile and went to wave his hand before Billy snatched down his hand. "No, dude. No, no, no. You're a Rat."

Marcus cringed slightly at the title, "Harsh."

"As in not from a legacy," Billy elaborated. "You got the welcoming rat bones and seasonal cheese basket. Yeah, we're at the bottom of the food chain. No affiliation."

"So, what makes her so different from us? I mean we both don't have any affiliation—," Marcus started, not liking the fact that the blonde believed herself to be better than him in any and every way, as she had made herself seem.

Billy sighed, "She has no affiliation willingly, but she's still a legacy. Her mom is apparently some super accomplished spy or assassin but no one knows for certain. It's all just rumors. It has been highly suggested, though, that her mom and Master Lin were tight, which is why he's so hard on her."

Marcus continued to look at the blonde with narrowed eyes. She had long since turned back to her meal after making brief eye contact earlier. Suddenly, the new Rat stood from his seat and walked over to her table, sitting across from her.

Billy could do nothing but watch the train wreck happen.

Andi looked up at him with an intense glare immediately after he sat across from her. "What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?" she snapped at him. Marcus could feel the stares of the others in the cafeteria.

"Eating, obviously," Marcus snipped sarcastically. "And enjoying your lovely company of course." The harsh look did not leave her face. Marcus noted that he preferred her much more when she was the sweet version, not the bitchy version, as he was sure many others did as well.

"Don't test me, _Rat_. You won't like the outcome," the blonde stood from her seat. "This is your one and only warning. You pull this shit again, and Chico will be the least of your worries."

Leaving him at the table, satisfied by the reaction he got out of her, Marcus could only smirk at her retreating figure. Billy did not share the same amusement.

"Dude, she might be only like five feet tall, but she can still skin you alive. Don't push it," the green-haired boy warned. Marcus was feeling cocky though and did not give in to Billy's warnings. Trying to lighten the mood, Billy sighed at his new friend, "Come on, I want to show you something."

* * *

Andi was on her way to meet Simon. They were going to head out do work on the assignment for AP Black Arts. She had changed from her uniform into a bright pink skirt that ended at her mid-thigh, a long sleeve cropped tee, and a pair of Mary Janes with frilly socks. She looked about thirteen, with her hair in pigtails tied with ribbon. That was the point though. The best way to catch a predator was to pretend to be prey. She did have a change of clothes for afterward though. Clean up was easier when you did not have to worry about pulling a Marilyn Monroe.

Simon managed to track down a guy who was distributing child pornography out of his pawnshop. He and Andi had agreed to pay him a visit, find out who his video supplier was, and end them both. They deserved it after all.

Her mission was put on hold as someone ran up behind her and grabbed her arm. They pulled on her arm tugging her into an alcove off the hallway.

"I got to talk to you," Marcus said.

Andi scoffed and went to move past him. "Yeah, well I'm kinda busy right now." She went to move past him, but his grip on her arm remained, keeping her in place.

"Please," he begged.

Andi knew she owed him nothing, but seeing him at this moment was enough to cause a lapse in her judgment. He looked scared. Actual real fear and anxiety in his eyes, not just a manipulation from what the blonde could tell. It was enough for her to set aside the anger from his ballsy display at lunch.

"Fine," Andi gave in, her glare remaining though. "Not here. I don't need people associating us together."

She could see a slight flicker of annoyance in Marcus' eyes before it disappeared, still overwhelmed with the fear from before. The blonde grabbed the taller boy's wrist and pulled him into an empty classroom down the hall.

"What?" she asked once she closed the door. Marcus paced around in front of her, jittery and uncomfortable. A minute or so passed with no answer, "Well if you're not going to answer me, that's fine. Thanks for wasting my time."

"No, wait," Marcus called out. "Chico is trying to kill me."

Andi nodded, "Yeah, I know. I heard what he told you in the hall."

"What do I do?" Marcus asked desperately.

The blonde walked up to him, getting in his face. "Seems like a psycho like you should be more than capable of handling himself. Besides, everyone knows not to fuck with the cartel."

"He was choking Maria," Marcus tried to justify.

"Maria, right of course," Andi gave a sarcastic chuckle. "Did it ever—You know what? Never mind. Good luck, kid killer. Enjoy your last few hours."

The blonde went to leave again when Marcus blurted out his secret. "It's all bullshit."

"What's bullshit?" she asked him with a sigh. "You're attitude. I already knew that—"

"No. This stupid reputation," he cut her off. Andi narrowed her eyes at him, not in anger but in intrigue and confusion. What did he mean his reputation was bullshit? He lit a cigarette and continued, "When I was nine, my dad and my mom, they died right in front of me. Court sent me to a boys' home. The place was just a sweatshop. They… they tortured us… they… they did a lot of bad shit. I hurt some guards when I bailed, but I-I didn't kill those kids."

Andi's expression softened, but she remained skeptical. She was not just going to take his word. "What about the newspapers? And why do the cops think you did it then?"

"They got it all wrong, and that's not the point. I'm not what you think I am. I'm not like you," he finished.

"If you're not like me, like us, then why did you come back here?" Andi pressed.

Marcus was taken aback by the comment. "You told me to."

Andi approached him again, "No, no, no. I did _not_ tell you to come here. I just offered you a solution that wasn't throwing yourself off a building. We aren't friends. In fact, if you were smart, you would've never come here. You would have never trusted me. Trust gets people killed."

"Why did you even come to the tower then?"

Andi rolled her eyes; a small somewhat malicious laugh escaped her. "Dude, that was an assignment. If I didn't bring you back, then I was dead too."

"You told me I could do more than survive here," Marcus said and Andi could see any hope leaving his eyes.

"That was before I knew you weren't a killer," Andi retorted. Although, she was not entirely convinced of his story. "And before you started shit with Chico."

"I didn't know—"

"Didn't know what? The tatted-up vato was a legitimate killer and not a theater kid? Do you have any idea where you are?" she stressed, hoping to knock some sense into him.

Marcus looked down at her. "That's why I'm asking for help," he said sincerely.

Andi stared up at him for a moment. "He's going to kill you," she told him softly.

Marcus' face dropped, all hope gone. "So what should I do?"

"The only thing you can do, _run_."

Marcus quickly exited the room and Andi sighed. She tried the push the guilt she was feeling away. She was not responsible for him. She did her job; she got him to the school. The decisions he made after he got here were on him. Maybe it was karma biting him in the ass, she did not know.

She exited the room a few minutes later, going to meet up with Simon. Speak of the devil, she thought, seeing the tall English boy walking towards her.

"Where have you been?" he asked her. "I've been looking for you everywhere. It's time to go."

Andi nodded, not saying anything. She was still absorbed in her own thoughts.

"You good?" Simon pressed. "You gotta be focused as we go into this. We can't fuck up."

"I know. I good, I swear," she assured him, focusing on her mission again. "Let's go get these cocksuckers."

* * *

**Sorry about the delay. I was exhausted when I got back on Saturday night and I got about half of this written last night but I had a decent amount of homework I had to finish on top of actually having things to do at work, which I'm not going to complain about.**

**I felt a little iffy at the end of the chapter because I've been trying not to steal other character's lines in scenes where Andi may take their place because I want to convey her personality through her own dialogue, but I still did it a little with her and Marcus at the end.**

**I'm going to try to get another chapter out over the course of the night to make up for the delay. For anyone who reads Games, I am about halfway done with the next chapter so that should be coming soon too.**

**Lastly, thank you all for all the support! This book has gotten a lot of attention lately and I'm almost at 1K views. That's fantastic! Keep letting me know what you think!**

**The next chapter will probably wrap up episode one and I'm so excited to move on to episode two with drunk!Andi.**


	5. chapter five

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**[**wolf in sheep's clothing**]**

**"consider it an olive branch"**

● **warning: mentions of sexual abuse against children **●

* * *

Simon led the way into the dark, black market pawnshop. A squirrely-looking man stood behind the counter, his frizzy, unkempt hair and unshaven face made him look right at home in the dingy place. The taller boy kept a tight hold on Andi, making him look in control.

"Heard you can help me out? I'm looking to make some cash with my... friend here?" Simon said using an American accent and putting on the sleaziest guise he could muster. He pulled Andi forward and the man behind the counter eyed her lasciviously.

Andi did all she could not to recoil and curl her lip in disgust at the man, instead keeping her expression innocent and lost. To add to her act, she covered her chest and tugged the hem of her skirt as if to cover herself.

"How do I know you're not a cop?" the man asked, his voice shaking.

Simon gave him a wolfish smirk, "You don't. Guess you'll have to take my word for it. But if you help me out, I'll let you have first go with her." The man eyed her again and a chill ran down her spine. She did not have to act for that. This man was creepy as shit, looking like some strung out meth addict and staring at her so blatantly. She may very well burn these clothes after this was over.

"O-Okay," the man answered Simon. "You got a deal. I just have to go get his information from the back." The man wandered to the back of the store and Simon went to follow him.

"Stay here," the Londoner whispered to her.

Andi kept up the act until she watched them both disappear into the back. Then she dropped her arms from covering her body and started to look around the shop. She went behind the counter and saw a collection of knives and other weapons. The blonde snagged a set of brass knuckles and a set of three throwing knives that were small enough to keep on her person. For the time being though, she put the knives in her backpack and tucked the brass knuckles in her bra.

"Andi," she heard Simon call in his natural accent. That was her cue. They had what they needed, which meant the lecherous man was dead and Simon needed her help disposing of the body.

The blonde went to the back room and saw Simon taking a couple Polaroid pictures of the body as proof for Master Lin. He pocketed the photos and looked up to Andi, "You gonna help me out?"

She held her hand out as if to say 'after you' and glanced at the body on the floor. Simon had gone for a relatively clean method, strangulation. Using an electrical cord that was already in the room, they did not have to worry about the disposal of a murder weapon, as it would not look out of place after they moved Mr. Creepy.

Simon grabbed his upper body and Andi grabbed his feet. Together they lifted the man and moved him to Simon's trunk until they finished their mission. The brunet boy then drove them to the location of the person responsible for producing the child pornography that Mr. Creepy was selling.

Pulling up at a rundown warehouse building, the two walked up to the door and Simon knocked.

"What do you want?" a hesitant voice called from the other side of the thick door.

"Hello," Simon greeted casually. "A mutual friend of ours from Buck's Pawn referred us here. Said you're in the business of making movies and I think I've got your next star." Simon shoved Andi forward in a deceivingly hard manner.

After a few minutes, the door opened. If Andi thought the creepy man at the pawnshop resembled a rodent, then this man resembled a lizard with his sunken in cheeks and beady eyes. The blonde could definitely tell they had the right person, his lecherous gaze matching that of his partner.

Mr. Creepy 2.0 led them into the building. They reached a room that held some equipment when he stopped. "You're going to have to wait here," he told Simon.

Simon let his eyes flicker to Andi's for a moment. He was undoubtedly worried about leaving her on her own with this man. They had thought their plan through, but anything could happen and it could all go south very quickly.

Careful not to hesitate too long when Andi gave him a subtle nod, Simon plastered on his fake grin. "Of course, understandable." As Mr. Creepy 2.0 opened the door to another room, Simon mouthed to Andi, "Be careful."

Andi nodded, her heart beating a little faster now. She was not sure what the particular reason was. Was it because of the adrenaline beginning to pump through her veins in anticipation of ending this predator's life? Was it nerves, her mind questioning if she was able to do it? Or, was it fear, knowing what this man was capable of with his previous history of victimizing innocents? Possibly all of the above?

Whatever it was, Andi was going through with this no matter what. He deserved it.

He led her in front of the camera where there was a rickety cot. He stood behind the camera and started rolling the tape. "Alright, take off your clothes."

Andi turned around, not facing him. To him, it would appear as if she were frightened, and perhaps a part of her was. In reality, she was getting a look around the room, seeing what else she could use against him. She reached into her bra and took the brass knuckles out. Putting them on her right hand, she kept her hands in front of her so he would not be able to see them.

"I said, take off your clothes," the man repeated, sounding more agitated.

Andi centered herself for a moment, taking a deep breath. "You like to victimize little girls, huh? Does it make you feel like a man? To prey on the defenseless. I guess it's too bad. The lamb you let in was really a wolf in sheep's clothing," she told him, her voice hard and emotionless.

Angry footsteps approached her and a hand clamped onto her left shoulder. The blonde jumped into action. She grabbed his hand in a death grip, twisting it as she turned to slam her right fist, covered with the brass knuckles, into the man's nose. She heard a crack and blood immediately began to flow out as he recoiled backward at the blow. Before he could lift his hand to cover his face, she sent a few more blows to his face, causing him to collapse to the ground on his knees.

As he was recovering, temporarily incapacitated, the blonde ripped the camera plug out and wrapped it around his neck. She was not as strong as Simon was, but strangulation was still the method with the easiest cleanup. Not about to grapple with Mr. Creepy 2.0, she looped the cord around his neck twice and pressed down on his back with her foot while pulling up on the cord. The pressure on his throat combined with the inability to breathe through his blood-clogged nose did him in eventually.

Andi did not know how long it had been, but it felt like a while. "Simon!" she called out and he came bursting through the door. When he saw her, the blonde was crouched over her knees breathing heavily from the exertion, the dead body lying before her.

He went to check on her, thinking she was hurt, but she held her hand up. "I'm fine, just sore. It took a lot out of me." Simon nodded, not wanting to push it.

The brunet boy took photos again and grabbed the videotape from the camera that had been filming for more proof. After he finished his task, he waited for Andi to finish collecting herself. "Why don't you go to the bathroom and clean yourself up before we leave here."

It was not a question and Andi was not going to argue with him. Finding the bathroom, Andi washed her hands of the blood, removing the brass knuckles. Specks of blood freckled her face and clothing as well from the repeated punches. She stripped herself of her revealing clothes and changed into the spare outfit from her backpack. After all the lascivious looks she had received, she was glad to be wearing the long black pants, baggy tee, and her favorite jean jacket. She was also happy to be out of her heels and in her comfortable high tops.

As she pulled the ribbon out of her, after she finished cleaning herself up, she thought about the last time she was in a room like that. A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away and forced herself not to let anymore fall. She could not think about that right now, they still had to finish their assignment.

* * *

Maria was leaning in to kiss him when a voice disrupted the moment. "Well, well, well. Are we interrupting something?" A London accent called out from the stairs.

The two moved apart only to see Andi and her friend, Simon, entering the courtyard. The blonde smirked, "I think we are."

Marcus looked over to Maria who looked a little uncomfortable at the intrusion but she quickly covered it up with a bright smile as she approached the blonde.

"What were you up to?" the Latina asked the duo.

"Oh, just completing Lin's assignment," Simon answered.

"Ah, then I guess you'll need a drink. Petra cooked up some moonshine. Everyone's getting wasted in the Graveyard. You should come," Maria offered the three.

"Maybe," Marcus answered at first. The other three gave him odd looks at the noncommittal answer. "I mean, yeah, sure."

Maria laughed at his response, "'Maybe, I mean, yeah, sure.' You're a real crack up, para veño." The Mexican beauty turned to Simon, "How 'bout you?"

Simon gave her a charming smile that would make any girl swoon. "How could I turn down an offer like that?" he flirted back at her. "Lead the way," he gestured to the door.

Maria looked back over at Andi briefly. "I'll see you up there," the blonde answered. Simon shot her a wink before following Maria back inside, leaving Andi and Marcus alone in the courtyard.

Marcus lifted his cigarette to his mouth when Andi spoke up. "Got a spare?" she asked alluding to the smoke.

"Should I give you one though? You weren't very much help earlier," Marcus teased making Andi roll her eyes.

"Please," she pouted jokingly. "I mean, you're still alive, so obviously everything worked out."

Marcus pulled out another cigarette and handed it to her as he grabbed his lighter. Walking closer, she took the smoke from his hand and held it up to her lips as he lit it. The Latino boy was painfully aware of how close they were. He remembered the outfit she was wearing earlier and was glad she was no longer in it. He was not sure how he would have reacted to being close to her in_ that_. Although, the tight black pants were not all that much better he supposed. It was not his fault that she looked good in everything.

He swallowed and took a step back, causing her smirk to grow. She blew out a puff of smoke. "If I'm being honest, I didn't expect to see you back here."

"Yeah, well, it's been a rough night. I almost didn't come back," Marcus answered.

"So, how did you manage to not get killed by Chico?"

Marcus kicked at the ground lightly, "I told him I had nothing to lose and he had everything to lose. Then, Lin showed up and he backed off."

"And you came back because..."

"After I left, I realized I had nowhere else to go, so I came back."

Andi took another puff, "Now you're beginning to sound like the rest of us." Her comment confused him for a moment until he remembered what Willie told him about his mother. She _made_ Willie attend King's Dominion despite what he wanted. Maybe Andi was here under similar circumstances. Maybe they all were. "Watch out, I think you're starting to fit in here. Well, as much as a Rat can."

This time the malice was absent from her tone. Her eyes held no disdain. Her comments were casual, joking. She was the Andi he first met. Sweet Andi, not bitchy Andi. Marcus could have made a comment about it, her sudden change in attitude towards him and the lack of biting remarks. However, he stopped himself, wanting to enjoy this Andi while she lasted.

"Are you actually going to the Graveyard?" Marcus asked.

Andi scoffed, finishing her cigarette as he finished his. "Duh, free alcohol? Who wouldn't go? Besides, I've had quite a rough night myself."

Marcus knew she was referring to Lin's assignment. "So, you finished it then?"

He watched as the blonde got a faraway look in her eyes. "Yeah, yeah I finished it. I killed someone who deserved it."

At that moment, he saw that despite her bark, and her bite, she was not a psychopath. She experienced guilt. Even if the person she killed deserved it—and he did not doubt her when she said they did—a part of her felt the effects of ending their life in her soul. Just like he did.

He did not regret killing Rory. Rory was a horrible person who did horrible things to other people. Marcus knew that by ending Rory's life, he was most likely saving a dozen others, but there was still a new weight on his shoulders from his actions. A weight that he now saw Andi also carried.

Sensing the serious tone of their new conversation topic, Andi quickly changed the subject. With a light smile, she looked up at him, "C'mon, let's get up there before all the booze is gone. I don't put it past these assholes for a second not to drink it all before I get any."

Marcus watched her walk inside, following not far behind her and thinking that hopefully there was no more animosity between them.

* * *

Andi did not know how to feel when she had seen Marcus and Maria together in the courtyard. Honestly, she was more concerned over Simon's reaction at the two. Simon was in love with Maria, and she thought Maria felt the same, but maybe Simon was old news. I mean, Maria did try to get Marcus to kill Chico for her. The Latina could just be very invested in her plan.

Marcus. The kid was fucking everything up. Yet, after their encounter earlier in the day, and Andi's exhaustion from completing Lin's assignment, she could not bring herself to be an ass to him. He was clueless when it came to this stuff, but he was catching on.

Andi had been denying this draw to him since they met. But it was time for her to grow up and just admit to herself that she was attracted to him, despite his reputation, which he denied. Although, she still was not entirely sure he was telling the truth about that. A part of her wanted to believe him, but that would require trust of which she had very little if any. Regardless, it was not a crime to find someone attractive.

Maybe, she thought, for the time being, I can let up on him.

As she stood with Simon and Maria, sipping on moonshine from her red solo cup, she saw Marcus arrive. A golden opportunity presented itself.

Grabbing another cup of booze, she approached him. "Here," she handed the cup to him.

"Did you poison it?" Marcus asked with a smirk.

"Haha, no, idiot," Andi smiled, feeling a solid buzz. "Consider it an olive branch. You came here to start over, right? How about we start over too?"

Marcus took the cup from her hand and took a sip. "See, nothing nefarious, I promise."

"Wasn't it you who said never to trust anyone?" he quipped. She shrugged.

"You don't have to trust me to enjoy the party," she answered sending him a bright smile and holding out her hand for him. He looked to her hand and back to her face. For a moment, she was reminded of their conversation of Coit Tower. It seemed like forever ago when it had only been a day.

"What the hell?" he smiled back, taking her hand and letting her lead him through the crowd.

* * *

**Here is the second chapter I promised! I've been making subtle hints about Andi's past that will come to light later on, but I don't even know if it will be this season or not. But, this wraps up episode one!**

**After episode 4 last week, I've had major feels about writing a Billy story too so let me know if you'd be interested in that.**

**I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to vote and comment! 3**


	6. chapter six

**CHAPTER SIX**

**[**moonshine hangovers**]**

**"you're only human"**

* * *

Andi was rudely awoken as her roommate moved noisily around their shared bedroom. "Bitch, could you not?" she muttered groggily.

"Don't fuckin' start with me. I'm already late for cheer practice," Brandy snapped back at her with her Southern accent. The platinum blonde rolled her tired eyes. "Where the hell are my shoes?"

"With your head, up your own ass," Andi replied dryly as she sat up on the bed and wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

Brandy shot her a nasty glare. Andi did not care though. The two managed to agree that in the confines of their shared room, there was a truce as they could make each other's lives equally miserable. "They're right there dumbass," Andi pointed out.

The curly-haired girl grabbed them and quickly put them on. She promptly left without another word. Andi was not complaining though, now she had some peace and quiet to get ready for class. She had not gotten much sleep. The blonde could not admit to herself that her thoughts were reeling after the assignment last night. The party in the Graveyard had done plenty to distract her, but now the party was over and all the thoughts and memories were free to roam her mind.

Dawning her school uniform after she washed up, Andi did not even bother to do anything with her hair, choosing to leave it down in its natural state. She made sure to grab a clip to pull it back for Poison Lab later, as she did not need her flowing locks to be set aflame.

Not to mention she did not want to tempt fate in her exhausted, hungover state. Being hungover was not as fun as getting drunk in the first place.

As she turned the corner on her way to Poison Lab, she ran into a body. "Whoa, my bad," she mumbled only to see Marcus looking down at her with an amused smile.

"You look like shit," he said.

She rolled her eyes at him, "Wow what a charmer."

He gave a short laugh. "Really though, you may look worse than me which is saying something."

"Y'know it would be great if maybe you could offer me a solution instead of continuing to be a dick." Andi paused for a second. "And for the record, I definitely still look better than you."

Marcus adjusted his bag on his shoulder, "C'mon I was just about to meet up with Billy, Petra, and Lex to see if they had anything to help."

Andi knew what he was referring to and she could definitely use it to help with the headache that was beginning to form. "Are you suggesting self-medication?" Andi joked, pretending to be scandalized.

"Yes. Yes, I am."

She laughed at his response, "You have no shame. But, why would I risk being seen with a bunch of Rats?"

"Because you want weed more?" he answered, not taking offense at her Rat comment.

"True," she said running her hands through her hair. "Lead the way."

As the blonde followed Marcus to the actual graveyard, not the roof that went by the same name, she thought about how much their dynamic had changed over the course of a day. The previous night, the two teenagers had fun together. For that one night, they were able to act somewhat normal and not like, they were at a school that trained them to kill. They smoked some pot, played a few drinking games, and had fun.

The two got to the graveyard and saw Petra and Billy sitting on a couple headstones as Lex pissed over to the side. Andi curled her lips in disgust. Aside from the classist bullshit she allowed herself to take part in, she actually liked Billy and Petra. They were decent human beings. Lex, on the other hand, was an asshole.

Well, Andi knew she was an asshole too, but that was beside the point.

Lex was too much for her. He did not have an off button, aside from maybe wiring his jaw shut. He was not exactly winning himself any friends aside from the rest of the Rats. One thing that Andi supposed she respected about him was the fact he did not care what the rest of the school thought, including her. He was definitely unapologetically himself.

Marcus, still leading the blonde girl to his friends, spoke up as he eyed Petra's cigarette. "Hey, uh, what are you smoking?" When he realized it was just a cigarette, his shoulders dropped and so did Andi's. "Right, uh, got any weed?"

"We all enjoy a wee nip of pollen," Lex said, said zipping up his pants and joining the others. "But first thing in the morning, très gauche." The British Rat then saw the blonde girl standing behind Marcus. "What the fuck are you doing here? Finally gracing us common folk with your presence, princess?"

She gave him the middle finger with a wry smile, "Only Petra and Billy are worthy of my presence Lex. So you can piss off now."

Billy then stepped in so Andi and Lex would not start an argument. "Marcus and Andi just like drugs, Lex. I like them too. Drugs are very cool. No one ever tells you that."

"What about the Hessians?" Marcus tried.

"School's dry, Desperate Dan," Petra answered.

Andi sighed, "Great." Marcus met her eyes and the two shared an exhausted look.

"You look like boiled asshole," Billy said to the two of them.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep very well," Marcus answered just as Andi said, "I have the worst hangover, thanks."

The bell rang, signaling to the group that it was time to go to class. "Oh, well, you'll have to face the day dry, son," Lex started as the group began to filter out of the graveyard. "Easy does it. Let go and let God. One day at a time." Lex grabbed Marcus' face and planted a kiss smack on his lips before pulling back and slapping him across the face.

Andi watched with a raised eyebrow as Marcus shook his head in response to the sudden jarring. She could not help the laugh that bubbled out. He glared at her playfully before shoving her forward. "C'mon, let's get to Poison Lab."

"You go ahead. I'm gonna catch up with Maria and then I'll see ya there." She did not notice him hesitate behind her as she went her own way.

The blonde walked off to find the Latina, dreading this day ahead of them. There was no way she was going to the infirmary for a hangover headache, so she was just going to have to tough it out. This day was going to fucking suck.

* * *

"What's up with you and Andi all buddy-buddy all of a sudden?" Billy asked Marcus as they left Poison Lab. The blonde walked ahead of them with Simon, the brunet boy talking her ear off and purposely aggravating her in her vulnerable state.

"I don't know. We got along well enough at the Graveyard last night," the Latino boy answered, adjusting the strap of his backpack.

Billy laughed, "Oh yeah, we know. The whole school may know. The two of you were all over each other once you had a couple drinks in you."

Marcus scoffed in denial, "We were not. I think you're blowing it a little out of proportion. The two of us are just starting fresh, merely acknowledging we don't have to make each other's lives miserable when there are bigger fish to fry." The new Rat shot a subtle glare at Chico as they passed him.

"And you like her," Billy added with a goofy smile.

Marcus was not as amused although there was a ghost of a smile on his face as well. Billy saw this and continued to give him a hard time. "It's okay dude. I get it, you're only human." Before Marcus could answer him, the two had entered the library for Study Hall and Billy left to go to his own seat.

It did not take long for the librarian, who was supposed to be supervising them, to fall asleep, leaving them to their own devices. To pass the time, Billy had taken to drawing penises in any book he could get his hands on. It only being Marcus' second day at King's Dominion meant that he did not have that much work to catch up on, so instead, he drew in his notebook.

After some time, he felt a presence around him. Well, more like two presences. He looked over his right shoulder and saw Saya leaning over to see what he was working on. When he turned to his left, he saw Andi.

The blonde gave him an amused smile as he closed the notebook, hiding his drawings her. She sighed at his lopsided grin and walked back to the bookshelves with the Yakuza girl. Marcus followed her with his eyes, trying and failing to resist checking her out.

Billy had been right. They were very cozy at the party in the Graveyard. Between her and Petra's moonshine, he had actually managed to forget Rory and the night's events with Willie. Nothing really happened aside from blatant flirting and close contact. But, damn did he want another night like that.

Yet here he was, in study hall realizing how alone he was even as people surrounded him. Maybe it was time to make some more friends, to try to be normal. Turning to the guy sitting at the table next to him, he took notice of the comic he was reading. "Dude, that the new "Love and Rockets"? It's so crazy great. I love the Hernandez brothers."

"Suck a dick, wannabe," the other guy snapped, turning back to the comic. Well, Marcus thought, I tried.

"That was harsh," a voice said, causing Marcus to look up.

Simon, Andi's friend, stood in front of him. "Valiant effort I admit. But you'll find people rarely associate outside of their circle."

"Then why are you talking to me?" Marcus asked suspiciously.

Simon shrugged and grabbed the chair across from Marcus. He flipped it around and straddled it. "Curiosity. Yesterday, Andi hated your guts and now she actually tolerates your presence. That doesn't happen very often. Plus, after all the talk of your reputation, I had to size you up myself."

Marcus stayed silent for a moment. "And what do you think, oh wise one?" he snapped sarcastically.

Simon's amusement faded slightly. "I think you're a punk who's in way over his head."

"And you're a fascist asshole," Marcus quipped back, almost trying to piss Simon off. The Latino did not care for Simon's smartass attitude and obvious ego.

"Ding ding! We have a winner. That's me—asshole on the outside, asshole on the inside," Simon replied unfazed. In fact, his amusement from earlier actually seemed to return. "You're so smart, Marcus, really. But let me tell you something you seem to be having a hard time wrapping your head around. The students at this school, the cliques… they aren't normal. They might be called Jocks and Preps but they're more like prison gangs. Actually, just consider this school more like a prison than a school at all. Being a part of a gang ensures that you have friends and protection if anyone fucks with you. Andi may not be a part of one officially, but she can handle herself, and she has the Preps if she ever really needed us. You, on the other hand, are a Rat. The only people that _may_ have your back are your Rat friends. So before you go pushing your luck with the Soto Vatos, Dixie Mob, or anyone else, make sure you realize just how vulnerable your position is. Never forget it, because I assure you, no one else will."

Marcus just looked up at him, jaw clenched and silent for a moment before speaking. "Is that supposed to be a threat or something?"

"No, Marcus. You're not listening. It's a warning. Your attitude, that chip on your shoulder, it is going to get you in trouble. The kids here have been stuck harassing each other for a while now. _You_ are fresh meat. A new toy for them to all fuck around with. A target. You may be wondering why I care?"

Marcus shrugged and nodded slightly. "Well," Simon continued, "It's because of Andi. The more she hangs out with you, the more she puts herself in the line of fire. And I won't let these assholes hurt her just because she decided to hang around the new kid. So don't be a fuck up."

With that, the brunet boy stood and wandered into the stacks of books.

Marcus rubbed at his face in frustration. He could see why Andi and Simon were friends. They were both smartasses that acted as if they knew everything. They came across as overconfident and more than a little self-righteous. However, Marcus could see that the Londoner was protective. As much as he hated to admit it, a part of him respected that. He did not like bullies, yet he attracted them. So, he understood why Simon would worry about Andi ending up in the crossfire with the newfound truce between himself and the blonde. Her tolerance of him could come across as weakness in the eyes of the other students. However, there was no way that Marcus would let Simon know he had a point. That would just feed into the ego.

* * *

Simon caught up with Andi in the hall on the way to AP Black Arts. He did not mention his little conversation with Marcus as he knew it would just end with him getting an earful from the blonde about how she could take care of herself and that he should stay out of her business. Things that would make Simon roll his eyes at her.

Andi liked to believe she could not trust anyone. That everyone would turn on her eventually and betray her in the end so why even bother pretending.

The blonde was a mystery to everyone. No one even knew her full name. Rumors spread of course about the secretive legacy, but there were few things that everyone could agree on. One, her parent or parents were involved in the government or with some type of agency. Two, her parent or parents were in tight with Master Lin. And three, she was all but abandoned at King's Dominion at fourteen years old.

Simon knew more. He was probably the only one in the whole school that knew the whole story thanks to his insatiable appetite to dig for the truth. He was good at tracking people down. With his connections to MI6, it had been easy for someone as intelligent as him to find out about Andi.

Andrea Broughton, daughter of Lorraine Broughton.

Andi was clueless that he knew anything about her past and her mother, and he was going to keep it that way until she was comfortable and trusted him with that information, which may be never.

Every major government in the world at the moment wanted Lorraine Broughton. She liked to play for all sides—CIA, MI6, KGB. With her particular set of skills, she was highly sought after, some governments even forgiving past transgressions in order to obtain new goals with her help. Word has it that a new power in the world was rising in the shadows of the Cold War, gaining power and that was who she last worked for until she was not heard from again. It was at that same time when Andi arrived at the school, looking like a doll who had been tossed aside with the trash.

Now, he looked at the girl walking beside him. She had grown much stronger and more resilient in the two years since she arrived. Her resolve had hardened, turning her into a force to be reckoned with. He, too, had been conditioned to take trust very seriously. However, he did trust her. Against his better judgment, he trusted her with his life. The Londoner would never tell anyone what he knew. It was ironic that he knew she would never trust him for fear he would tell her secrets, yet he did know her secrets and would die before he let them spill from his lips.

Simon could not tell her he knew though because it could ruin everything. On one hand, it could go great she could realize that she was able to trust others without them throwing her under the bus. On the other hand, she could use it as a reason to cement her mistrust of others and cast Simon aside. He would not let that second possibility happen.

"Ready to present our assignment?" he asked her as they walked.

She sighed and he knew she was dreading it. Something had been off with her since she killed that creep. Whenever the assignment was brought up, she would get quiet and uncomfortable. "You okay?" he asked her again.

"I'm fine," she answered. She was not fine. "Let's just get this over with," she said, pushing into the classroom.

* * *

**Hey everyone! Happy belated-Valentine's Day to everyone. I know I said I was going to update yesterday but I only got like 3 hours of sleep the night before and then hung out with my friend all day that when I came home I literally passed out in full makeup (gross…) and didn't wake up until after 10 pm. Then I washed my face and fell back asleep until noon today. I knew I was tired, just not that tired.**

**I struggled some with this chapter, partly because it was a bit of a filler, but I hope it's not complete crap lol.**

**Anyway, episode five was so intense and so much happened. I was dying of laughter with Marcus on acid and then the end of the episode I was just dead at everything that had happened. If you wanna talk about it, PM me because I wanna keep spoilers off of here.**

**Also, after I post this, I will be posting the precursory chapters of my Billy story, **_**Bury A Friend**_**. Yes, it is named after the Billie Eilish song.**

**Lastly, I saw **_**Isn't It Romantic?**_** with Rebel Wilson and it was pretty damn funny imo..**

**I'm gonna try and get a second chapter up tonight to make up for the delay but no promises.**

**Enjoy!**


	7. chapter seven

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**[**promises**]**

**"do you want it to be?"**

* * *

"Andi, please come up and tell the class about your assignment," Master Lin spoke from the front of the room. Andi lifted her head off her hand as it registered he was speaking to her. Suddenly, her stomach churned at the idea of reliving the previous night. Killing the creep had been no problem, it was the circumstances of how it all happened that made the blonde uneasy.

She got to her feet slowly, pulling at the hem of her uniform skirt nervously. She was never nervous. As she realized what she was doing, she quickly stopped and hoped no one had caught her moment of weakness.

"Master Lin," she said, grabbing the older man's attention. "Simon and I completed our assignments together; may he come up to assist me in explaining what happened?" Master Lin nodded his head in agreement and Andi turned to Simon. The brunet boy was already rising out of his seat to join her in front of the class.

"Well," Simon started. "After some digging, I was able to find this guy who was distributing child pornography out of his black market pawnshop. I told Andi about it, and we came up with the idea to use her as a sort of a honey trap. She would pretend to be a… client. We were able to get information from the distributor about who was producing the material. After that, I strangled him with a power cord, figuring it was a cleaner kill method. Easy to hide evidence. I took pictures for evidence and we moved his body to the trunk of my car until we took care of the other guy."

Andi had been paying attention to Simon's account of the night, but she had taken to staring at her shoes until it was her turn to speak. She did not want to think about it.

The blonde realized that despite her efforts, she had zoned out, only coming to when Simon nudged her.

"I took a pair of brass knuckles from the pawnshop before we left and stashed them in my bra," she started, trying to act nonchalant. "Figured it wouldn't be easily seen. We arrived at the address we got from the distributor and… well, I guess our plan worked because he let us in after getting a good look at me. He made Simon wait outside, which was fine with me. We went in the back room. There was a mattress set up, a video camera, all kinds of creepy. He—," Master Lin cut her off.

"I understand there's a video," the older man stated. It was not a question. He already knew. Simon had turned in the evidence, including the video that had been rolling during the assault. Andi slowly turned to Simon, keeping eye contact with him as she answered Master Lin. "Yes," she answered simply with a nod. The older man gestured to the television on the mobile stand behind them.

Simon grabbed the remote and nodded at Andi to continue. "Anyway, so we went in the back room and he told me to take off my clothes. When I ignored him, he approached me and, well, you'll see what happened… I guess," the blonde trailed off as Simon started the video.

"_Alright, take off your clothes," _she heard the man's voice speak from the tape. She did not want to relive it but she could not keep herself from watching the tape. Like a train wreck, she had to keep looking.

The Andi on camera did not move as he spoke again, _"I said, take off your clothes."_ Andi watched for the subtle movement of her arm as she reached for the brass knuckles she had hidden.

"_You like to victimize little girls, huh? Does it make you feel like a man? To prey on the defenseless. I guess it's too bad. The lamb you let in was really a wolf in sheep's clothing." _Hearing herself on tape only made her realize how emotionless her voice had been. There was no quiver, no hesitation or fear.

She watched as the creep grabbed her shoulder and the assault began. What she had previously believed to only be a few well-placed punches had actually been a full-on barrage as her fist repeatedly beating the man's face in. The blonde gulped as she watched the blood splatter onto her face, her hair, her clothes.

Andi's fist tightened, her knuckles turning white as she watched herself strangle the man with the cord. The video was still running on battery power so the moment was captured on film. The whole class watched for minutes as Andi killed the man, not a single comment made. Andi continued to stare at the screen and for a moment, she wished she had found _him_. _He_ was the one she would have preferred to kill last night, although this man deserved it all the same.

Simon stopped the video as Andi let the cord fall slack in her hands. She was grateful that he did not allow the rest of the students see her state of exhaustion after the whole affair. She did not say a word after. Simon finishes their presentation, explaining how they cleaned up the scene and disposed of the two bodies.

There was no applause or congratulations thrown their way, just stares. Andi forced herself to make eye contact with her peers. Some looked impressed, like Viktor and Brandy. Some appeared to have a glint of respect in their eyes, like Chico despite their previous and ongoing animosity. Others looked as if they were worried, her 'friends' Maria and Saya. However, as she met Marcus' eyes, it was as if he could see through her. As if he could see the inner turmoil she was experiencing. And he understood it.

* * *

Marcus saw Andi sitting at her usual lunch table as he entered the cafeteria after the murderous pop quiz. Her nose buried in a book, what appeared to be their recently assigned Poison Lab homework. She was shutting everyone out around her, the headphones from her Walkman keeping her in her own little world.

He did not know what to make of the display in AP Black Arts. If he had to guess, Master Lin was testing her. Remembering what Billy told him, about her mom and Master Lin knowing each other well, and that was why he was always hard on Andi. The reliving-her-kill thing was a test, and he could see it affected her. Hell, even he felt anger welling in his chest when that creep had been ordering her to undress. A part of him was glad the guy was dead, but another darker part of him wished he had been the one to end his life.

When she looked up at him though, he knew. He knew that it was not just guilt eating away at her. It was something else, something deeper. He also now knew why she wanted some weed so bad that morning, hangover be damned.

Marcus walked over and sat across from her. "What a dork? We got that assignment, what less than two hours ago, and you're already working on it. Expected you to wait 'til the last minute like the rest of us," he joked with a crooked smile, hoping to not continue the tense atmosphere from class.

"You're so funny," the blonde started, taking off her headphones and not sharing his amusement. "Y'know what else is funny? The death wish you apparently have. I thought I told you not to sit here again. Just because we're turning over a new leaf and I'm trying not to be a super bitch to you doesn't mean that my warning concerning our lunchtime seating arrangements has changed."

He was honestly surprised she did not mention his haggard, bloody appearance. She made no comment that even hinted that he looked like he had just crawled out of his own grave. "So we're gonna pretend that nothing changed? That we aren't friends?

"Well, we _aren't_ friends, so yeah!" she answered with a hundred-watt smile. She looked at him for a few moments before her smile faded. His smug look still firmly in place. "You're seriously not going to leave?"

Marcus shook his head.

Andi huffed. "Whatever, fine. I too exhausted to care right now. Don't think this is me being a pussy and not going through with my threat either, because you are so going to get it later." She vaguely threatened him.

"Is that a promise?" he asked. She narrowed her eyes at him before her lips tilted up at the corner, giving him a sly smirk.

"Do you want it to be?" Marcus blinked in slight surprise at her response. Was she actually flirting back with him? Here, in the middle of the cafeteria surrounded by her fellow legacies, without any alcohol to cloud her judgment?

He was about to answer when Lex slammed his lunch tray down on the table, followed by Billy and Petra. Andi glared at Marcus, "I was willing to let your presence slide for the day, but he's a deal breaker."

"Andi, darling, for the love of God take that stick out of your arse," the spiky-haired teen quipped.

"I will, but only if I get to impale you with it afterward," she snapped in return.

"Ladies, ladies, you're both pretty," Petra intervened. "Now if you will please stop bickering over me while I attempt to eat this _lovely_ meal," the goth girl continued, sarcasm heavy in her tone.

Andi rolled her eyes but the two seemed to listen as the bickering stopped.

Lex turned his attention to the cassette that sat on the table, courtesy of Shabnam's run for class president. "What the bloody hell is this shit?" he exclaimed as he grabbed the cassette and looked over the songs and artists. "U2, Whitesnake, Banana-bloody-rama, and Def Leppard. Sweet Lord Jesus."

"So," Marcus interrupted before Lex could go off on his rant, "with the pop quiz—"

"You had a pop quiz?" Andi interjected. "Damn, haven't had to do one of those in a while. I was wondering why you looked like shit. Lin must've really been pissed at you guys for not completing the assignment."

"Tell me about it," Marcus grumbled, gripping his fork a little tighter. He had agreed to let Willie take the credit for killing Rory, but that had not made it any easier listening to the other boy recount the fake story to everyone, let alone have to take the punishment for 'failing' the assignment. "Anyway, what happened to the kids who didn't make it through? Are they—," Petra cut him off.

"Dead."

"No," Billy tried. "Gothic Oompa Loompa monks revived the losers and whisked them back from whence they came."

Marcus looked to Andi for clarification and reassurance. "They're dead," she mouthed to him, making him gulp nervously.

Looking off to the left, he saw Shabnam who waved and gave him a thumbs up. The Latino boy gave a slight wave back.

"What was that?" Andi asked, uneasy.

"New pal?" Lex asked, also catching the exchange with Shabnam. Marcus gave them both an exasperated look at their judgmental tones.

Petra also joined in, "I'm not really into the hierarchy, don't normally shit on the physically unattractive, but that dude and his crew are highly annoying."

"Preach," Andi mentioned as she popped another tater tot in her mouth.

"Crew?" Marcus inquired with amusement. Shabnam did not seem like the kind of guy to have a crew.

"The Goop Patrol," Billy explained. "Banker kids, mafia accountants, NASA…"

"NASA?" Marcus exclaimed in surprise causing Andi to chuckle.

Lex glanced at Andi, "Oh, there's a lot they're not telling you." The blonde flipped him off.

"Whatever, I'm not gonna watch some kid get bullied," Marcus tried.

Andi shook her head at him, "Oh, Marcus, Marcus, Marcus. Valiant as that may be—"

"These animals see kindness as a weakness," Petra finished.

"They sniff it out like bloodhounds waiting to attack," the blonde added.

Petra nodded at the other girl's comment, "Safer to be a dick."

Marcus could not believe they all agreed on something, especially with Andi thrown into the mix. Despite their sudden agreeance, there was no way they were going to make him feel bad about treating Shabnam like a real person.

"Everyone loves a dick," Billy joked.

"Well some more than others, right Andi?" Lex commented, gesturing as if he was giving a blowjob.

Andi leaned forward on the table giving Lex a wry smile, "I don't know Lex, you tell me? You seem to have the technique down."

Billy laughed at the jab as Petra and Marcus smiled. The comradery ended when Shabnam took a seat next to Marcus and across from Andi. Marcus watched as all amusement fell from the blonde's face. This _definitely _was not part of the deal when she let him sit here.

"Any of you guys seen the, uh, new Spuds MacKenzie commercial?" Shabnam said, taking a seat.

Marcus looked over at the two girls. Andi shook her head in irritation at him as Petra remarked, "You've brought a plague on our house."

Shabnam continued though as if he did not sense the shift in mood at his appearance. "You know, I hear they don't really give that dog beer. PETA or some left-wing baby would complain."

"Do you know what goes great with people who love beer commercials?" Lex started sarcastically. "A bullet in the box." Marcus gave him an unamused look as Andi chimed in.

"For once, Lex and I actually agree on something," the blonde said as she rubbed her face in irritation.

Shabnam ignored their comments and turned to his newest 'friend', "Anyway, Marcus, my parental units are gonna be out of town, so me and the crew were thinking of firing up the Commodore 64, a little "Castle Wolfenstein," a charcuterie plate. My dad prob left some amaretto too if we wanna get crazy." The rambling boy turned to the blonde across from him with a blush hinting at his cheeks. "Of course, you're also invited, Andi. I had no idea you two were friends."

"We're n—," just as Andi was about to deny any friendship between the two of them, Marcus was struck with an idea. He wanted a repeat of last night in the Graveyard. This was his chance.

"In. We're in," Marcus interjected, making it seem like that was what Andi was going to say. She gave him a "what the fuck" look.

"Come again?" Billy asked, almost choking on his juice.

"School is dry," the new Rat stated, looking first at Andi hoping she understood what he was getting at, then moving on to Billy, patting him on the shoulder as he continued. "You know, something's better than nothing."

Shabnam started to backtrack, his invitation to Andi and Marcus now being extended to the rest of the Rats as well. "My dad was clear, just a few friends."

Billy got up, coming up behind Shabnam with a large grin, "You can't win an election with just a few friends."

"You need to connect with the proletariat," Lex added.

Andi jumped in, a sweet smile on her face to soften Shabnam to the idea. "C'mon Shab, it'll be so fun. I could even get the cheerleaders on board. Brandy _is_ my roommate after all." Well, that was new information for Marcus to stash away in his mind.

Now, all the Rats and Andi were smiling at Shabnam, hoping they convinced him. "It'll be a small gathering," Marcus attempted on last time, trying to tame his smile.

"We promise," Andi said, looking at Marcus. He watched as she bit her lower lip in anticipation for what Shabnam would say.

"Hmm," the boy thought. Adjusting his glasses, he looked back and forth between Marcus and Andi. "Alright."

The party was on.

* * *

**Not as much Simon this chapter but we got some light flirting between Andi and Marcus. Don't worry Simon will appear again next chapter where Marcus won't be featured as heavily. One more precursory chapter and then we'll really get into the party! ;)**

**As you can see in this chapter, Andi is having her own issues with her assignment that will be further explored as the story continues. Her issues are more psychological than Marcus' unsure, guilty feelings. Her issues actually reflect more of Marcus' issue with Rory's death in the comics if you're familiar.**

**I just started reading them and finished through volume two and will probably start volume three tomorrow. If the show continues to follow them, there is some craziness to look forward to and I'll be interested to see how it translates to TV.**

**Anyway, not too much happened but I hope you enjoy it anyway! Let me know what you think and don't forget to vote! :)**


	8. chapter eight

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**[**mother saya**]**

**"i don't know if i actually like him or i just think he's hot and want to fuck him"**

* * *

Simon caught up with Andi at the end of the school day. The Londoner was highly annoyed and the source of his annoyance was one Marcus Lopez Arguello.

He finally understood why the mention of the kid made Andi want to tear her hair out of her head that first day and a part of him wished that she still had that reaction toward the new Rat. Obviously, she did not as she let him and his Rat friends sit with her for the entire lunch period, even Shabnam, who while not a Rat was still considered a loser. It was practically social suicide.

Simon had warned Marcus that any leniency Andi showed him would only be portrayed to others as weakness. While in King's Dominion, you stuck to your gang. Even though Andi did not belong to a particular gang, not even the Preps despite their efforts, she still belonged to the legacies overall. Association with Rats was not ideal for her.

At any other school, it would not matter as much. She would have suffered some mean-spirited pranks and such from the others for hanging out with the losers. However, at King's Dominion, these elitist pricks took everything personally. Not to mention they could also kill you.

The blonde already had enemies on the outside. It was why she came there in the first place, for protection. It was kind of ass-backward, going to an assassin school for safety, but it _was_ why she was there. Inviting herself to accumulate enemies within the school was not wise, and it was something she had managed to avoid overall. Until now.

Simon had warned that kid. He warned Marcus that he and Andi hanging out would not be in her best interest and he was right. The entire lunch period he listened to the smart remarks of Soto Vatos, Dixie Mob, and even Viktor's crew of Jocks chimed into the chatter.

Whatever, the brunet boy thought. If Marcus would not listen to him, maybe Andi would. He hoped she would.

He caught her walking down the hall to the dorms after dropping her school materials off at her locker. Hurrying over to her, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her off to the side.

"What the hell?" she snapped, yanking her arm out of his grasp. Simon did not want to snap at her so he forced himself to calm down though he was seething with frustration.

"'What the hell' is right. Why were you sitting with the Rats at lunch?"

Andi rolled her eyes. "You're so damn dramatic. I told them to leave and they didn't. I just wasn't in the mood to argue it further."

"Well, you should've been because now people are starting to view you as the fifth Rat thanks to your new friends," Simon explained to her.

"Fuck them. I don't care. I didn't even expect them to all come sit with me, just Marcus. I was going to leave and then Marcus—," Simon cut her off.

"Of course, Marcus. It's always Marcus at the center of these things."

Andi recoiled. She closed her eyes and waved her hands in between the two of them. "Who are you right now? My jealous boyfriend? You have never acted like this before. You're acting like Chico."

Low blow, Simon thought. She knew that comparison would aggravate him. "Don't misunderstand me," he backtracked. "I'm not jealous of anyone. I'm just trying to make sure you're okay."

"Well, I'm fine as you can see. So can you stop this bullshit now."

Simon shook his head in exasperation. "Why do you like this kid so much?"

"I don't like him," Andi tried and failed to deny.

A sarcastic chuckle escaped the taller boy. "Yeah, right."

"Look, dickhead. At lunch, Marcus convinced Shabnam to throw a party at his house, well, it's just supposed to be a 'small get-together' but it's a party. Figured you'd want to come, but now I'm not so sure if you _should_ come if you're gonna be a dick the whole time. I don't feel like babysitting tonight." The blonde turned from the Londoner and continued her way to her dorm. She looked back at him over her shoulder, "Meet me and Saya in the courtyard at eight if you decide to get your shit together. Oh, and Maria will be there too."

Simon sighed. He knew he was too worked up about the situation, but he could not help but worry for the petite blonde. She was relatively alone with only him to watch her back. That was a tough gig twenty-four seven.

The mention of the Latina beauty softened his attitude though. Maria was always able to bring a smile to his face. She was just so full of life and optimism despite being bogged down by Chico all the time. Andi had told him to steer clear of the couple, to let Maria work out her own problems and he listened begrudgingly. One day though, Chico's reign of terror would end.

* * *

Andi was on outfit number four for the party that night. She just could not decide what the wear. Nothing felt right for her first _real_ night out in a long time.

Currently, the blonde was spending some time with Maria and Saya as they all got ready. The three girls were excited to get out of King's Dominion and be around their peers without all the pretenses and rules of the social hierarchy hanging over their heads. Aside from Andi sneaking over to the other girls' shared dorm, they rarely got quality time together in the school and now they had the night to cut loose and have fun.

"During the pop quiz, you were awfully close to Marcus," Maria commented toward Saya. Andi glanced back at the two through the mirror as she examined the dress she was trying on. The blonde tried to ignore the irritation that sparked in the back of her mind and tight feeling in her stomach as if she was about to be sick at the mention of Saya and Marcus.

Saya looked up at the other two girls, "Lin made him my secret pledge."

"No shit?" Andi and Maria exclaimed, Andi's previous feelings receding at the justification.

"So anything that psycho does is on your ass?" the Latina asked.

Saya nodded, "Yeah."

"What about you Andi?" Maria looked at the blonde who was changing yet again. This time she donned a white bustier top with a simple black, high-waisted skirt and ripped tights. It would go great with her jean jacket and combat boots. "Trying to impress someone? A new student maybe?"

Andi shot Maria a teasing smile, not trying to deny it this time. "What gave it away?

"Well, you guys spent the whole time in the Graveyard flirting," Maria shuffled off the bed and went to stand next to Andi and Saya watched from the floor in amusement. "You kept doing that thing where you touch his arm and pull his attention to you and then make eye contact as you tilt your head and wet your lips." Maria acted out the whole thing as she explained it. "It's like your signature move. It draws attention to your lips and before you know it they're caught in your trap."

"Damn Maria," Andi joked. "You better be careful. You almost seduced me." The three girls laughed and Maria spun Andi around to get a good look at her fifth outfit choice.

"This is the one. What do you think Saya?" Maria asked the Kuroki girl.

Saya nodded. "Oh definitely."

"So do you like him then? I mean obviously you like him, but do you _like_ him?" Maria pried, trying to get more information from her blonde friend.

Andi played with her hair for a second as she thought about it. "I mean I think he's cute, but you guys know I don't do relationships."

"Right," Saya said as if the remark was a reminder that their friend would always keep them at arm's length.

"What about you Maria?" Andi said, shifting the subject to focus on someone else. She tried to push away the uneasy feeling that seemed to return at her questioning. "You and Marcus looked pretty close in the courtyard before the Graveyard party last night."

"Oh, that," Maria said before lowering her voice. "I set him up to take out Chico."

Andi already knew this. She knew how Maria operated. Trying to get Marcus to take out her abusive boyfriend seemed like the easiest way out for the Mexican beauty. Apparently, Saya had been unaware though.

"Maria!" she exclaimed in a scolding tone.

"I know," Maria stated. "After he tried, I guess I just felt like rewarding him."

"Skank!" Saya jokingly reprimanded the Latina, before groaning. "Did you touch his dick?" Maria shook her head.

"No! None of that happened. I didn't even get a chance to kiss him before Andi and Simon interrupted up."

Andi struggled to keep a smile on her face through the conversation. "That's me, Andi the Cockblock," she laughed through a forced smile. Seeing Maria and Saya looking at her as if they knew something was up, Andi asked Maria, "You like him?"

"Oh, as if," the Latina retorted as she began humming along to the song playing on the radio.

Saya watched Andi visibly relax. "I think we should stop talking about it," the Japanese girl suggested.

"No, no, no," Maria said, pulling the Kuroki girl up with her and Andi. The Latina started dancing with the two of them, getting them all to lighten up a bit after the conversation about Marcus turned a little uneasy amongst them. "There's a cute new boy in school that we've all gotten to know. But we are not supposed to discuss him?"

"Basically," Saya insisted, getting a more genuine smile from Andi.

"Are we talking about boys by talking about not talking about boys?" Maria pressed, continuing to twirl the other two around. Andi let out a laugh at her verbal brainteaser.

Saya pulled her hands back and glanced over to Maria's nightstand. Andi noticed the girl's bottle of Valproate sitting by the lamp. "Why did you hide that from me?"

That had been another new bit of information Saya had learned recently. Andi had found out previously after she caught Maria having a manic episode after a particularly nasty argument with Chico. The Latina had sworn her to secrecy and the blonde never uttered a word about it.

"Is the master of mystery giving me a lecture on secrets?" Maria questioned back.

Saya simply stated, "I thought you trusted me."

Maria tried to brush off the seriousness of the discovery. "I had diarrhea last week, and I didn't tell you about that."

"This is much bigger than diarrhea."

"It was pretty bad," Maria joked. Andi stood off to the side watching the back and forth, trying not to get involved. She understood why Maria kept it a secret because she would have too. Something as serious as bipolar disorder could get her kicked out of King's Dominion, and even though this school kept her further tied to Chico, it also offered her a semblance of sanctuary just like Andi.

"Well, you gotta be careful, 'cause if I could find out, someone else could too," Saya warned her. Maria looked down at her shoes, thinking over what Saya said before the Kuroki girl attempted to lighten the mood. "We have to take time out for fun."

"The party's just what we need," Andi interjected, reaching out to Maria and squeezing her had comfortingly.

"It would be so much better if you did not bring him," Saya continued, referring to Chico. It was true. Chico was not just a stressor for Maria, although he was a _major_ stressor for her. He was also a stressor for Andi, Saya, Simon, and just about most other people at King's not associated with the cartel. Even to some of those who _were_ associated with the cartel, they would probably have a better time if he did not make an appearance. No one could relax and have fun with him around.

"It's complicated," Maria, answered. "But I've got him under control." Except she did not. No one could control Chico and Maria knew that.

"Unless he knows you tried to have Marcus kill him," Andi told her. That would set him off more than anything would. If Chico found out about Maria's plan, she worried about the Latina's safety.

"Shh," Maria hushed them just as Chico walked in the dorm.

"What's up?" he greeted Maria as he entered the room.

Andi rolled her eyes at him, arms crossed over her chest. "Excuse you! We could've been changing in here. Ever heard of knocking?"

Chico gave her a small glare before ignoring her remark and looking to Maria. "Oof," he uttered as he checked Maria out causing her to laugh. "Get on your finery, baby. Tonight we're hitting the town."

This dick, Andi thought. He was _really_ going to keep Maria from going to this party.

Maria looked to her friends as she tried to object, "Tonight's the big party, and we were talking about—"

"Forget the kiddie pool," Chico cut her off. "I'm taking you out for some high-class romance."

"You ever ask what she wants?" Saya challenged him.

Chico turned to the other two girls and approached them. Neither of them backed down as he got closer. "I know you ain't got no man. But when two people are in love, sometimes they surprise each other with nice things."

The two girls glanced at Maria over Chico's shoulder. The beauty was shaking her head, trying to signal them not to start something. Saya looked Chico in the eyes. "Lucky girl," she said before exiting her dorm.

Andi collected the things she brought from her own room before staring Chico down as well. "If this is what love is, then I don't want it." The blonde locked eyes with Maria one last time before following Saya out of the room.

* * *

It was about eight o'clock when Saya and Andi made their way to the courtyard to meet Simon. Andi hoped he showed up after their argument earlier in the day. Although, now he would probably be disappointed Maria was no longer in attendance.

"So what are you going to do about Marcus?" Saya asked her.

The blonde kicked at the dirt with her combat boots. "I don't know. I mean, like I said, I like him. But, I don't know if I actually like him or I just think he's hot and want to fuck him," Andi answered casually.

Saya raised her eyebrows at the remark. "You think you just have to get him out of your system?"

"Maybe," Andi shrugged.

"Wait! Are you going to do that tonight?" Saya almost shouted. Andi shushed her and the two girls started to laugh.

"Maybe," Andi answered with a goofy grin on her face.

"Jesus," Saya replied, shaking her head at her blonde friend. "Just be careful. I mean that sexually and emotionally, okay?"

"Yes, mother," Andi said, giving the Kuroki girl a playful shove.

The blonde looked over as they heard someone else enter the courtyard. Simon walked toward the two girls as Andi glared at him skeptically.

"Please tell me you're the nice, fun Simon I know and love and not whoever that asshole was I spoke to earlier," she snapped.

Simon raised his hands in surrender. "I come in peace, I swear. And I'm sorry for coming off as an overprotective dick."

Andi looked as if she was thinking about it for a moment. Saya glanced between the two, unaware that they had a fight and silently wondering what had occurred between them. Finally, Andi smiled at the taller boy. "You're forgiven, I guess. Just remember, tonight, I am _not_ your babysitter. Pull one more dick move with me and I'll throttle you."

"Aye, aye, captain," he answered, leading the two girls to his Mustang. "Now, are you guys ready to party?"

The three looked at each other, "Hell yeah!"

* * *

**Filler chapter! But next chapter is the first chapter with the party and as we can see, Andi has some big plans… ;)**

**Last chapter for tonight, I wanted to get this out of the way. I'm gonna try to get the next chapter ready to publish tomorrow, but I don't know what time it will be up as I have some homework to finish at work tomorrow before midnight because I'm the dumbass who left her textbook in her work locker.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**Also, give me some of your thoughts on how I should handle the romances come episode five and beyond. I have several ideas floating around in my head with several different pairings but I want to know who you guys ship going forward. I already know I mentioned that Marcus and Andi are endgame but some of you ship Andi and Simon. Although their relationship in the endgame will be primarily that of siblings, I want to know what you all think!**


	9. chapter nine

**CHAPTER NINE**

**[**cat and mouse**]**

**"if you want something, you have to take it"**

* * *

Andi and Saya leaned against a pillar near the front door of Shabnam's house, drunk and high teenagers surrounding them from all sides. The blonde tried to appear casual but she continued to glance at the door every five seconds waiting for a certain new student to walk through it. Simon had met up with some of the other preps when they arrived and the Londoner was currently shotgunning beers in the kitchen with them. They girls were more low-key about their drinking habits however, choosing to sip vodka from Saya's flask to build up their buzz.

"Target at two o'clock," Saya whispered to Andi with a mocking smile. Andi rolled her eyes and nudged the other girl playfully as she looked up to see Marcus trailing behind Billy. The Latino boy locked eyes with her as he passed, Andi shooting him a wink as she raised the flask to her lips.

"You gonna go talk to him or what? What happened to your big plan?" Saya teased. Andi's eyes glanced at Simon over Saya's shoulders and thought about their altercation earlier in the day. Saya caught her gaze and looked in the same direction. "Simon? What are you worried about with Simon?"

Andi sighed, taking another gulp and letting the liquor burn as she swallowed. "He got all weird about Marcus earlier. I know he was just being overprotective but it still irked me. I was hoping Maria was going to be here to distract him, but..."

"Forget Simon being an ass," Saya interrupted. "He's obviously distracted right now, so go get your guy. If I need to play babysitter for the two of you idiots tonight then so be it. Just know that you'll owe me big time."

Andi gave the Kuroki girl a genuine smile, "Thanks, Saya." The dark-haired girl laughed.

"Don't get soft on me now," she said, slinging an arm over the blonde's shoulder. "C'mon."

The two girls walked over to Marcus and Billy who were meeting up with Lex. Normally, Andi would have scowled at the spiky-haired teen, but she was in high spirits and she was not going to let him bring her down.

"Ah, look who's gracing us with her legacy presence, and in public no less," Lex stated as he saw Saya approach.

"Different rules outside of school," Saya replied, grabbing a beer from Lex before he turned his attention to Andi.

"Andi you're looking to be in rare form tonight. Now sour looks for Lex tonight?"

Andi snatched the other beer he was. "Nope. Let's be honest, I'm already buzzed and you're much more tolerable when I have a few drinks in me." The blonde looked up at Marcus who was standing next to her.

His attention was moved from her though as he spotted the older, bearded man wandering through the party. "Shit, is that Shabnam's old man?"

Billy finished his sip of beer before answering, "No, sells herb to the Hessians. Probably a pederast."

Andi rolled her eyes as Marcus' face lit up with amusement. "Oh, let's go make friends with him," he joked, causing Andi to chuckle.

"I'm not getting buggered for a joint again," Lex answered seriously.

Andi raised her eyebrows. "Again?" She shook off his remark and turned to Marcus. "Ignore him. That's Dwight," she said pointing to the older man. "If you want some weed, then you're gonna have to talk to him. Shouldn't be an issue unless you're chicken shit like Lex." The spiky-haired teen shot her a nasty look, which she ignored as she grabbed a hold of Marcus' hand.

As she led him to the other side of the room, she took the time to check him out. He was dressed so casually, in just a black long-sleeve tee and jeans, but he looked so good. His brunet curls fell over his forehead and Andi restrained herself from brushing them back with her fingers. Even the cuts on his face in addition to the scar that ran over his right eye, somehow added to his attractiveness in a devil may care sort of way.

If Andi had been questioning it before, she was not anymore.

She wanted Marcus.

* * *

Marcus was fucked.

He knew he was done for from the moment he saw Andi standing there in her short skirt and ripped tights, her wild, platinum blonde curls hanging over her shoulders and her red lips looking ever so inviting.

And then she winked at him, giving him that knowing smile as if she could hear his thoughts. For a minute, he questioned if he had made any indication of what he was thinking aloud for everyone to hear, but that was not the case.

Now, she was leading him over to the fish tank where Dwight and Jaden were smoking from a bong. He caught her glances at him over her shoulders as they pushed passed the partying teens. He would be lying if he said his attention had not been solely on her.

"Dwight's a little weird," she told him with a crooked smile. "But, he's actually pretty chill. Hardcore stoner. They guy wouldn't hurt a fly. Believe me. I have good radar when it comes to sorting out the creeps."

Her comment was joking, but it reminded him of her AP Black Arts presentation. She did a good job at hiding how it affected her. Better than he did at hiding his own hard feelings about the assignment. However, he knew that she was still bothered.

Instead of bringing it up, he was going to allow her to have this night as a distraction from reality. Hell, he needed it too. Who was he to ruin this for the both of them?

"Perfect, now hit that shit," Dwight said to Jaden as the teen hit the bong.

Marcus and Andi walked up to them. The blonde dropped his hand, and Marcus tried not to react to the loss of contact. He instead looked at the other two, "Oh, gravity bong, nice. You guys need help smoking that weed?"

"What are you talking about, man? Gravity bong? It's a water bong?" Dwight answered.

Marcus gave the man a confused look. "Well, no, a water bong is just a bong. You push that down using gravity."

"It's not gravity, dude. It's pressure," Dwight corrected him as Jaden looked on amused. "Trying to school me. Rookie."

Marcus turned to Andi who rolled her eyes. "Dwight, do you have what I asked about earlier?" The blonde asked, reaching into her bra and pulling out a few bills.

"Right here," the older man said, handing her a couple joints.

The blonde gave the man-child a sweet smile, "You're the best."

Just as her and Marcus were about to walk away, Jaden stopped them. "Hey, Andi," the Hessian started. "I could help you smoke that."

Marcus looked at him with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief. Was this asshole trying to flirt with her right now?

The blonde glanced at Marcus briefly, her own expression mirroring his before she looked back to Jaden. "Nope, I'm good. _Marcus_ and I got it covered."

He could not be sure if the stress she put on his name was real or if it was all in his head, as if she was making sure that Jaden knew she was with him. He could not dwell on the thought long before she turned away from the fish tank and grabbed his hand again, leading him to a more secluded corner of the house where they could be somewhat alone.

She leaned against the wall and he did the same, facing her. "One for now, and one for later," she said, placing the first joint between her lips and tucking the second in his front jean pocket. Her close proximity and touch made him gulp nervously, but he was not complaining.

"Shit," she cursed. "I forgot my lighter. You gotta light?" Marcus nodded and pulled a lighter from his back pocket. He flicked it on and held the flame out careful to light the joint between her lips.

The blonde inhaled before passing it to Marcus who did the same. He looked over and caught her staring at him, "See something you like?"

"Definitely," she replied unabashedly, giving him a cheeky grin. He took another puff and passed it back to her. "So what do you think?" she gestured to the crowd around her. "So much for Shab's 'small gathering.'"

Marcus laughed, "A part of me feels bad, you know, as I watch him clean actual shit off the wall. But, then I think of how bad I needed this and..."

"And you just don't feel bad anymore," she finished with amusement. "It's okay to be a little selfish sometimes, Marcus. To look after yourself, do what _you_ want to do. If you want something, you have to take it." Andi closed the gap between them, her hand moving to rest on his chest. Her hands looked so small and delicate for someone who, just hours earlier, he had witnessed beat the shit out of some sexual predator and strangle him to death.

Marcus attempted to keep his heart from racing as she would feel it if the beat became erratic. He followed her lead though, moving his own hand to rest on her hip, pulling her closer. The blonde took another hit, releasing the smoke off to the side. He took the joint from her, only a little bit left and finished it.

"Maybe I will," he answered her. He leaned down, his forehead resting on hers. This was it. He was going to make his move, do what he did not have the balls to do at the Graveyard the night before. Their noses brushed, lips millimeters away. Marcus felt her shift, her arm trailing up to her neck as she tried to close the distance.

"Fuck you, you commie dickhead," Simon's loud, slurring voice called out over the party. Andi pulled back and glanced over to the drunk, obnoxious Brit.

"Shit," she swore. Marcus looked in the same direction to see Simon and Viktor squaring up against each other. "Saya was supposed to make sure this didn't happen. I'm gonna kill him." The blonde ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

Without another word, Andi angrily walked off to break up the ensuing fight. Marcus watched her leave, frustrated in more ways than one. He leaned back, head resting against the wall. Now that she had been so close, he did not want her to go, yet she did.

The night is still young, he thought, trying to convince himself. He would have plenty more opportunities. One thing rang true though, when it came to Andi, he was definitely fucked.

* * *

Saya finished doing her rounds of the party after helping Billy with his Petra problem. Not that it was really a problem. The Kuroki girl found it sweet how obviously head-over-heels the kid was for the goth girl. Saya then thought of Andi who had disappeared with Marcus shortly after meeting up with him.

The girl did not wait around that was for sure. Andi was one to go after what she wanted and, right now, she wanted Marcus.

Saya could not remember the last time Andi had been so focused on a guy, let alone one she had known for such a short period of time. Maybe it was just a passing fascination, a phase she needed to burn through, but Saya was not so sure.

The closest to a romantic relationship Andi had ever gotten was her flings. The Kuroki girl remembered the one time Andi slept with Juan, Chico's right-hand man. Maria had been attempting to bridge the gap between Soto Vatos and her other friends, although it did not go very well. It had not meant anything to either of them, and Andi preferred it that way. Same with when she slept with Viktor, although that was more of just a 'fuck you' to Simon who was being an idiot at the time. Andi always purposely picked flings that would never work out, as if it was some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy for her trust issues. When you are expecting something not to succeed, and it does not, then you had no reason to be let down in the first place.

That was why this 'fling' with Marcus made Saya nervous. Andi was not exhibiting her usual 'fling' tendencies. With Marcus, Andi was getting flustered and nervous, even jealous as Saya noticed during the conversation with Maria in their dorm earlier. The blonde would deny all of it, but that did not mean it was not true.

"Fuck you, you commie dickhead," Saya heard someone yell out.

"Shit," she muttered to herself, recognizing the voice immediately. Saya rushed off to find Simon, only to see Andi already there, holding the tall teen back from decking Viktor. Rushing over to help the blonde break the two apart, Saya cursed herself.

She told Andi that she was going to keep an eye on Simon so she could hang out with Marcus, but the blonde was pulled into babysitting duty anyway. The two girls were able to move Simon to the living room and plop him onto the sofa.

"Andi, I'm sorry. I know I—," Saya tried before the other girl cut her off.

"It's whatever," Andi said, trying to sound nonchalant and failing.

Saya sighed. "I know this interfered with your time with Marcus. You should go back."

Andi waved her off, "It's fine now."

"No, it isn't. Go. I'll handle Simon and I swear I'll keep a better eye on him," Andi smiled at the Kuroki girl.

"Thanks."

Saya smiled back, "Go. Have fun!" The dark-haired girl gave the blonde a wink as she left before focusing her attention on the shit-faced Simon sitting in front of her.

"Where did Andi go?" Simon asked.

"To hang out with Marcus," Saya answered, eliciting an over-exaggerated groan from Simon. "What is your deal, dude?"

Simon shook his head, words still slurring. "I'm just worried about her," he said, his voice tinged with sadness. "The guy's not the best at making friends. I'm not stupid. She likes him. Like _really_ likes him. Like I like Maria. I'm afraid it's gonna get her in trouble."

Saya sighed. She plopped next to him on the couch and patted his knee comfortingly. "Me too, Simon. Me too."

* * *

Andi saw Marcus and Willie talking before Willie started to walk away, the other boy's Walkman in his hands. Skipping by him, Andi snatched Walkman up in her hand. "I'll take that. Thanks!"

Looking back at Willie over her shoulder, she saw him roll his eyes but continue on his way. She made eye contact with the boy she was looking for and placed the headphones over her ears. "_There Is a Light That Never Goes Out_," she said to Marcus, correctly naming the song.

His eyes widened, not expecting her to be a fan.

"You know the Smiths?" he asked her, smiling.

The blonde nodded, "Yeah. I didn't think anyone else at this school did though." She took off the headphones but kept her eyes locked with him. "But, I should've known you were a fan. That whole angsty vibe you have going for you."

Marcus shook his head at her, amusement filling him once again after his conversation with Willie. He reached for the Walkman in her hands, but she quickly moved it behind her and out of his reach.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You lost this privilege," Andi told him, laughing. Marcus stared down at her, trying to keep the smile from his lips. "If you want it back, you have to earn it." The blonde chewed on her bottom lip for a second before leaning up to whisper in Marcus' ear. "If you want it back, you have to catch me."

Marcus raised his eyebrows at her. Andi started to back away from him, "Think of it this way. Now you finally get to be the cat, and I'm the mouse."

* * *

**Thanks so much for your patience! All the love I've been getting for this story... You don't know how much that means for me! Thank all of you for 4K+ reads and 300+ votes! I love you all!**

**This chapter took a bit to work out. It originally wasn't going to have a Saya section but I thought it was important for one of Andi's other friends to show their insight into Andi's habits. And it also revealed so other information too...**

**Andi and Marcus are going to exploring the definition of sexual tension the next couple chapters as well as sexual frustration haha.**

**I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to let me know what you think! I love reading your comments!**


	10. chapter ten

**CHAPTER TEN**

**[**bathroom rendezvous**]**

**"you're not my type"**

* * *

Andi was dodging partygoers with Marcus at her heels when she spotted Billy going to talk to Petra. "Wait, wait," she said to Marcus who caught up to her.

"What?" he said with a short laugh, reaching for the Walkman again.

She hurriedly pulled it back, laughing. "Nice try. But, look. Billy's gonna talk to Petra." Marcus glanced at the genuine grin she had as she watched his green-haired friend approach the goth girl sitting on the couch. Marcus, too, watched the exchange in anticipation.

"Pizza. I-Italy," Billy mumbled as he walked up to Petra. She looked up at him, but her attention shifted to Lex as he came over in his drunken glory.

"Would it kill you to smile, Petra? Poor, sad poet." The dark-haired girl looked away from him, a deadpanned expression gracing her made-up features. Lex continued to nag at her, "Thigh-cutting, clove-smoking, mardy fucking Bauhaus listener." She had obviously had enough, getting up from her spot and walking into the other room. "Go to the park. Feed the sodding squirrels. Life's not so bad." As she walked through the archway, she gave him the finger.

Andi watched as Billy's face fell. Fuck it, she _was_ going to give Lex a break tonight, but not anymore. Unfortunately, for him, a drunk Andi could handle a sober Lex, but a drunk Andi could not handle a drunk Lex. After he finished his verbal assault on Petra, he moved onto Brandy who had just entered the room. And after her, he decided to harass Dwight too.

"I'm about to throat punch him if he doesn't shut the fuck up," Andi muttered.

She looked behind her at Marcus, whose eyes narrowed at the other Rat. "Not if I beat you to it."

"I still might. Just cause."

The blonde watched as Marcus stepped in front of her towards Lex. "Damn, you got them all pegged, Lex. Looking down your nose, talking loud. You're no different than a jock or a prep. You're just another elitist dick with bad hair and a shitty bicycle chain necklace."

Lex leaned forward, scowling at Marcus. "Careful, mate. Murder school and all that."

Andi grabbed Marcus' hand and pulled him back, worried that a fight was about to break out between the two friends. "Maybe you should take your own advice, asshat," she snapped at Lex before pulling Marcus out of the room.

"You good?" Andi asked the fuming boy beside her.

"I hate bullies," he seethed. "Lex knew Billy was trying to talk to Petra and he dicked it all up." Marcus stopped and yelled out behind him, "He's just an asshole!"

Andi grabbed him and yanked him into the bathroom, trying to get him to cool down. She set the Walkman on the side of the sink and smiled at him, despite everything that had happened, "Everyone at this school is an asshole. Even me. Remember... when I told you I didn't care if you jumped off that tower."

Marcus shook his head at her and leaned against the sink. "That still how you feel?"

"Well..." she dragged out, pretending to think about it. He gave her a playful shove. "No. As sure as you are to get yourself killed picking fights like that, someone needs to puts these animals in their place every once in a while."

"Is that the only reason you're glad I'm here?" he asked, stepping away from the sink and closer to her.

"Absolutely." They stared at each other a second before they both began to laugh.

"You think you're cute, don't you?"

"No. I think _you're_ cute. I know I'm cute. I also know you're not my type."

"Really?" Marcus joked. "You think I'm cute?"

Andi laughed again, "Of course you only heard that part."

"Oh, I heard the rest of it. The whole 'you're not my type' thing. Yeah, I just ignored that because it's not true."

"Cocky much," the blonde replied. She lifted her left hand to brush over his scar, brushing back some of his curls. "So was it your mouth that got you this scar?"

Marcus looked down at the floor before meeting her eyes again. "No, it was my bunkmate at the boys' home."

"He used a straight razor, left the eye."

Marcus' expression turned bitter. "He's very generous."

"Scars mean a lot when they first happen. The impact that caused them stays with you so vividly at first, but then, slowly, it fades. Whatever it was that made the scar so significant in the first place, the pain, loss, betrayal; it just becomes a part of you in the end. It changes you, for better or worse, but it doesn't define you. Take it from someone who has a few of their own."

He looked skeptical at this admission. Andi huffed, pushing back the hair along her forehead. Marcus leaned forward to examine what she was showing him. Sure enough, a long scar trailed her hairline from her part to her right ear. He had never noticed it before due to her keeping it strategically covered with her hair.

His thumb grazed the raised skin as she had done to his scar just seconds before. Moving closer, he dropped his hand to her cheek and leaned his forehead against hers. She leaned up, her lips hovering over his.

"You're drunk," he pointed out.

She smirked, "And high, but so are you. I want this though. I want you." It was the first time she said it aloud without rationalization or some other phrase of detachment afterward. She did not care if it was some phase that made her so attracted to him. There, at that moment, she wanted no one else but him.

He closed the gap, his lips meeting hers. There was no soft, light touches, just a flurry of passion. His hand that had been on her cheek was now buried in her blonde locks. His other hand on her waist, pulling her closer as his thumb traced the thin patch of skin between her cropped shirt and skirt.

Andi, too, weaved a hand into his curls as the other clutched at his shirt. The blonde's head was swimming, her skin tingling where his fingers lingered. He pressed her against the door and she winced as the doorknob hit her in the small of her back.

"Sorry," Marcus apologized, his lips leaving hers for a moment as he turned them around. His hands moved to her thighs as he lifted her to sit on the sink. They stayed there as he stepped between her legs. Andi continued to alternate between running her hands through his hair or digging her fingers into his shoulders and upper back. It was if she needed a tether to keep her grounded and let her know that it was all real.

From this new position, Andi wrapped her legs around his hips. She could feel the rough denim of his jeans rubbing against her inner thighs. The arousal spiked at the friction that was building up. Trailing her hand down to his waist, she started to tug at his belt to remove it. Her body felt as if it were on fire as Marcus' touch was an accelerant. There needed to be way less clothing between the two of them.

Andi pulled back for a second to catch her breath, but still close enough for their noses to brush as they breathed heavily. "I don't have a—," Marcus started.

"It's okay. I do," the blonde said, stopping her attempts to unbuckle his jeans to pull a condom out of her bra. She had stolen it from Simon's glove box when he was not paying attention, on the way to the party.

She leaned up, lightly nipping his bottom lip as he gave her a lustful smile. "What else are you hiding in there?" he joked.

"I will never reveal my secrets," she said breathily. Marcus leaned back down to connect their lips once more. His hands trailed farther up her skirt as they searched for the waistband of her tights.

Suddenly, a pounding know from the door caused them to jump apart. "Ignore them," Andi whispered, pulling him back to her. Before their lips met again though, the pounding continued. "Occupado!" Andi yelled to whoever it was.

"Seriously guys!" the unknown voice called from the other side. "Find somewhere else to hook up! Some people gotta piss!"

"Fuck off," Marcus practically growled at the voice. Andi felt a tingle of pleasure rush through her at the tone. Damn, that was hot, she thought. The blonde crashed their lips together once more, their wandering hands groping at each other feverishly. Marcus trailed his lips down her jawline, leaving hot kisses until he reached the crook of her neck. Andi dropped her head back, panting as she finished unbuttoning his jeans.

The pounding on the door grew louder though, the angry, drunk voice on the other side effectively dampening the mood. The blonde sighed, their moment ruined. She groaned in frustration and she heard Marcus do the same as he dropped his head onto her shoulder. Why, she thought, why couldn't they have this one moment?

Andi sat back on the sink and looked up at him before a laugh bubbled out of her despite her frustration at the interruption. "What?" Marcus asked.

"Dude, you gotta look at yourself in the mirror."

He looked in the mirror behind her only to see his curls tousled into what pretty much everyone would call 'sex hair', his shirt and pants were disheveled from Andi's clutches, and the blonde's lipstick was smeared over his swollen lips. He could not help but laugh too.

Turning to the blonde, he raised his eyebrows, "You look pretty much the same as me."

"I know," she said with a smile.

Marcus gave her one last long kiss and he could feel her lean in. "We could move this elsewhere."

The blonde's hooded eyes met his. "You don't have to convince me." She slipped the condom into his back pocket and hopped off the sink.

They cleaned themselves up enough to walk through the party and get to a more private location. Wiping the smeared lipstick away and straightening themselves out, Andi opened the door with Marcus following behind her.

"Thanks," some Dixie Mob asshole drawled sarcastically.

"Bite me," Andi snapped at him.

Marcus lazily draped his arm over her shoulder as they made their way toward the stair, struggling not to just pull off into some corner to continue their heated make-out session. The bedrooms were the best bet for privacy, even in the crowded house. Not to mention, fucking on a bed would be much more comfortable than doing so while perched on a bathroom sink.

The two horny teens shared a goofy smile as they started up the stairs. That is, until a voice caught Marcus' attention, distracting him from the blonde.

"This dirtbag was coming at me, yo," the two heard Willie, telling the same damn story. Marcus tensed in anger. Andi's face dropped, knowing that look. That was his 'I'm going to start shit' look. It was pretty bad that she knew that after meeting him only a few days ago. It meant he made that face a lot.

He started to pull away from her. She grabbed his hand, turning him to face her. "If you go start something with Willie right now, this isn't gonna happen," she said seriously, gesturing between the two of them. Who was she kidding though? She would still sleep with him. But that did not mean if he left now, she was not going to be pissed for leaving her all hot and bothered.

Marcus' anger got the best of him and he stormed off.

"Fuck," Andi cursed under her breath. "I need another drink."

* * *

"You look happy," Saya remarked as she approached the blonde. Andi was currently leaning in the corner of the dining room, hogging a bottle of whiskey for herself. "You gonna share that?"

"Nope."

Saya sighed, "What happened?"

"Fuck Marcus."

The Kuroki girl smirked, "Well, you were trying to, but that doesn't seem like it went as planned."

"It definitely did not," the blonde angrily replied, taking another sip from the bottle. "We were going upstairs after we got interrupted in the bathroom by some Dixie dickhead, and he heard Willie going on about the God damn assignment again, and he just left me."

Saya grabbed the bottle away from her. "First off, that's enough of that before you get sick. Secondly, you and I both know why Willie talking about that is a trigger for Marcus. We're not morons, even if we're drunk."

"I know," Andi whined. And she did. Between Marcus' attitude change every time the story came up and the flawed details in Willie's account, it was not hard to piece together that Marcus was involved and got none of the credit. The brunet boy was obviously stressing out about it. "We were so close though."

Saya rolled her eyes with the hint of a smile, "There is still time. The night is young and it's not too late to get laid." She took a sip from the bottle.

"You're right," Andi told her.

"I'm always right."

"Okay, settle down. Try not to get too full of yourself." The girls laughed as they shared the bottle of whiskey and watched as their peers made fools of themselves, cracking jokes to each other all the while.

Andi watched Simon as he played beer pong with a random selection of people. She was glad he managed not to get in Viktor's face for the rest of the party so far. Speaking of the Russian, he was playing spin the bottle with Brandy and a few others from their respective gangs. Even Lex had managed to stop harassing everyone for the moment, instead appearing to be mingling civilly. Andi guessed that was a first.

"I wish Maria was here," Andi blurted out.

Saya nodded. "Me too. But she has Chico 'under control'..."

Andi rolled her eyes. "God, I want to kill that bastard."

"Who doesn't?"

"True."

Saya motioned to Simon across the room. "You know that's also part of the reason he's acting like an overprotective douche lately, right? He cares about you and Maria more than anyone else at King's. He feels helpless when it comes to protecting her so he tries to overcompensate with you. His intentions are usually better than his executions."

Andi smirked at Saya, "You're so wise and insightful Saya."

"Whatever," the Kuroki girl said, shaking her head with a smile. She pushed off the wall and held a hand out to the blonde. "C'mon, let's go beat Simon's ass at beer pong as payback."

Andi laughed and took Saya's hand, letting her lead the way.

* * *

**I was so worried about this chapter, and I still am. This is my first time really writing a 'steamy' scene and I don't know how I feel about it. I hope it turned out okay. It was just one of those things where I could imagine what I wanted to happen, but when it came to actually writing it, I struggled hardcore.**

**I was going to get this up last night too, but I couldn't write that scene at work, lol. I was not able to get in the right mindset, obviously.**

**Anyway, I hope you like it since my perfectionist mind is very unsure of itself!**

**Let me know what you think!**


	11. chapter eleven

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

**[**of love and pain**]**

**"i'm glad i let my guard down with you"**

● **warning: mature, sexual situations ●**

* * *

The munchies hit Andi hard. Stumbling away from the rambunctious group that she had been schooling in beer pong, the blonde wandered toward the kitchen to get some pizza.

"You're trying to get out of talking to Petra," the blonde heard a familiar voice say. She turned and saw Marcus talking to an anxious Billy. Her eyes met the brunet boy's before she broke eye contact and went to grab a slice from one of the boxes.

"What's up?" she said greeting Petra. The goth girl nodded to the legacy, her mouth full.

Andi could still hear Marcus and Billy though. "Enough stalling," Marcus told the green-haired teen, shoving him in the girls' direction. Andi, realizing that Billy was actually going for it, stepped back to observe. She hoped it went all right.

"Hey, I know, look, um, I'm sorry if it's lame, but, um, I think you're really smart and funny and really pretty and, um, I think I love you, Petra," Billy confessed to the dark-haired girl. Andi could see Petra begin to get flustered and fidget. The blonde flicked her gaze to Marcus who looked away as if anticipating the coming rejection.

"Oh no," Andi mumbled to herself under her breath. The blonde girl watched on sympathetically.

"Um, I-I don't, I don't really know what to say, Billy. I-I think you're a great guy—," the green-haired boy's face started to drop before he interrupted her, cutting the rejection off.

"You have a mouthful of pizza. I'm such a clod. Let me get you something to drink," he walked off to the sink, filling a cup up with water and giving Marcus a thumbs up.

Andi watched as Petra looked around frantically before she grabbed Viktor as he entered the room and pulled him away. The blonde knew what they were up to. Hell, that had been her and Marcus not all too long ago.

When Billy turned back around, Petra was gone. He went to go look for her but Andi tried to stop him at the doorway. "Billy, wait. I'm sure she just went to the bathroom are something." The blonde wanted to save him the heartache of seeing the girl he loved with someone else. She was trying to spare his feelings.

However, it was as if he had not heard her, brushing past to the foyer where there was no doubt he would see Petra sneaking off with Viktor.

Andi met Marcus' eyes, knowing they both felt the same after witnessing what just happened. The blonde legacy tossed her half-eaten slice of pizza in the trash before going to check on the sullen boy. She found him leaning against the back of the couch, staring into the fish tank.

"I'm sorry Billy," she told him, taking a seat to his left. "I don't really know what to say. I'm not exactly good at this comforting thing."

"It's fine," he said softly, knowing she could hear him.

Andi shook her head. "It's not though. You really love Petra. Don't be discouraged. She may not feel the same, but you can still be there for her." Billy's sad eyes moved to her.

"Of course, I'll still be there for her."

Andi smiled at him. "That's good. Besides, Viktor's not that great. Take it from someone who knows that first hand. You're a catch, Billy. Any girl would be lucky to have your love."

"You're the second girl tonight to tell me I'm a catch," he said.

"Must be true then." Andi patted his shoulder in a light, comforting way.

The honest, open moment between the two was interrupted as Lex squeezed himself onto the couch next to Andi and turned to Billy.

The blonde glared at him, not happy with his behavior so far that night. Being in close proximity to him reminded her of all the shit he said earlier and now she wanted to punch him again.

"Saw what happened," the spiky-haired teen started, sounding genuine. That sincerity disappeared rather quickly though, as he turned back into the Lex she knew and loathed. "Much be rough. Must be hard. Well, not as hard as Viktor right now. Guy his size, what's he doing to her?"

Billy stood up and walked away, Lex calling after him. "Oh, come on. Gotta laugh about it or what's the point?"

Andi's glare grew harsher. Before Lex could fuck with anyone else, she shot her fist out, connecting it to his abdomen, right where his liver would be. He recoiled in pain as she stood up, "Keep acting like an ass and you're gonna keep getting punched. I went easy on you. Take that as a warning," she seethed at him, storming out of the room.

Before she could leave, Viktor stepped out and blocked her exit.

"Let's go balls out!" the Russian yelled, dropping his pants. "Everyone get nude!"

Andi averted her eyes. "Jesus Christ!" she exclaimed, moving around him. That was an image she never thought she would see again. She went to move up the stairs, desperate to get away from the crazy teenagers.

"White people," she heard Willie say as she walked by.

She shook her head, "Tell me about it."

Her head started to pound, a headache forming after the events that had occurred that night. She needed some quiet. Hurrying up the stairs, she managed to find the guest bedroom. Opening in the door, she saw a couple sitting on the bed.

"Get out," she snapped. If she was not getting laid tonight, then neither was anyone else. She did not care if that made her seem like a bitter bitch. Maybe, she was. The couple looked at each other and then back at the blonde's serious expression. "I said get out!"

They quickly left, not wanting to pick a fight with the stressed-out girl. As soon as they left, Andi locked the door behind them. She would not have been able to disturb them if they had been smart enough to do the same. Idiots.

She collapsed on the bed, trying not to think about what may have happened on it so far that night. She rubbed at her temples in an attempt to get the headache to fade. Her attempts were in vain. Groaning, she closed her eyes. Maybe, she could shut out the world around her for just a moment.

A light knock sounded at the door and she ignored it. When the knocking continued, Andi stood up and marched over to the door.

"What the hell do you want?" she snapped opening the door to see Marcus on the other side.

The boy looked at her with wide eyes. "Uh, Saya said she saw you come up here." The blonde stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. "I know you're pissed because I left you earlier." Andi nodded as he continued, "And I wanted to apologize. I brought a peace offering." He pulled the joint she gave him out of his front pocket. "You did say it was for later."

Andi rolled her eyes but she smiled at the Latino boy. Pushing the door open, she stood to the side, allowing him to enter the room. She closed the door and locked it again.

Marcus lit the joint and took a hit before passing it to her. She inhaled, a short laugh bubbling out, "Hell of an apology."

* * *

The two laid back on the bed, laughing as they just hung out and got to know each other. Andi blew out a couple of smoke rings before Marcus snatched the joint away from her with a laugh.

"Stop, you're wasting it," he scolded all the while smiling in that carefree way of his.

Andi laughed, "It's at the end anyway. Tastes like shit."

He finished the joint and disposed of it, laying back down next to her. Andi turned onto her side to face him, her head propped up on her hand as studied his face. "What?" he asked, still smiling.

"Nothing," she brushed off. Marcus watched as she moved her eyes from his.

"Did you really steal a car when you were twelve?" he asked her. Part of him could not imagine twelve-year-old her being so rebellious, but it was Andi. All his previous assumptions about her had been proven wrong. She was a little unpredictable.

She laughed. He loved the sound of her laugh. When it was real and genuine, he was sure there was no better sound. Like she was finally letting go and enjoying life. "Yes!" she answered. "My mom was furious. She hunted me down on my joyride and I thought I was dead. I always knew my mom was a dangerous person, but that was the one time she honestly scared me." Her voice got quiet, and Marcus could tell the amusing story was turning serious. "In the moment, I couldn't even speak I was frozen. Though now I know that she wasn't angry, she was terrified." The blonde got that same far-off look she had in class. "My mom has a lot of enemies. Enemies that know I exist and would target me. They have targeted me. It's why I was sent to King's, to learn to protect myself."

He listened closely, taking in this information. This closed-off girl in front of him was not dropped on the doorstep of a school for assassins to learn how to kill people, but to learn to protect herself from those just like her peers.

"She taught me to never trust anyone," Andi continued. "That keeping everyone at a distance was the safest option. I used to think she was just paranoid, but I learned that lesson the hard way. Simon, Maria, Saya... they're my _friends_ but I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. The next knife in my back."

Marcus turned toward her, propping his head on his hand and mirroring her. "Sounds lonely. To be surrounded by people, but not able to let anyone in."

"It is." The whole story seemed more like a confession, something that had been on her mind for so long that she just needed to get it out. Marcus was perfectly willing to lend an ear.

He watched as she closed her eyes and forced a gentle smile. "But, it's whatever," she added a moment later, her wall coming back up, not allowing herself be vulnerable anymore.

"You don't have to do that?" he told her, furrowing his eyebrows at the shift.

"Do what?"

"Pretend like you're perfect and fine all the time. Put on that façade like nothing phases you. It's okay to let down your guard sometimes."

"Maybe for you it is. But, when I let down my guard, I end up with this," she said, gesturing to her scar she showed him earlier.

"I don't want you to ever be afraid to let your guard down with me," he whispered. His fingers gently brushed back a blonde strand that fell over her eyes. His hand lingered on her cheek for a moment for moving to the back of her head pulling her closer.

She inhaled lightly before his lips brushed hers in a gentle kiss. This was not the carefree romp of two horny teens in a small bathroom. This was just two people, really seeing each other for the first time.

Marcus pulled back, not wanting to push her after the intense conversation they just had. He sat up on the edge of the bed and she did the same. As he ran a hand through his curls, he felt a soft touch on his left arm. He locked his eyes with her, her gaze soft yet intense. The blue of her irises seemed to twinkle even in the dark room, the only light coming from the lamp on the nightstand.

Andi leaned in and he closed his eyes in anticipation. Her lips met his and they moved hesitantly. It should have been odd to go from dry humping against a sink to being shy about a kiss. The mood was different now though. There was something _more_ to what was happening.

She pulled back and went to stand in front of him. He watched the beautiful girl in shock as she removed her top and shed her skirt and tights. His eyes roamed her body as she stood before him in just her underwear.

Marcus gulped as she approached him and straddled his hips, her hands resting on his shoulders. "W-What are you doing?" he stuttered. After he left her earlier, she told him this was not going to happen and he had believed her. How did so much change in such a short period of time?

Her hands rested at the back on his neck, playing with the soft strands of hair just at the nape. "I'm letting my guard down."

She pressed her lips to his and he did not hesitate again. Her kiss was a soft caress. Her lips tasted like whiskey and cheap beer but he could not get enough. His hands gripped her bare waist as she rocked her hips against his.

Pushing him back lightly, she braced herself over him, a hand on either side of his head as her soft kisses left a trail down his jaw. His hands wandered lower, grasping her thighs and pulling her tighter against him. Andi nipped at the edge of his jaw, and he took the opportunity to turn the tables.

Moving an arm to circle her waist, he flipped them over and moved them further onto the bed. Marcus sat back on his heels to remove his shirt. Her fingers brushed against his chest as she leaned up to help him push it over his head. He watched as she examined the scars on his chest, feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable at her intense gaze. His anxiety was quelled when she pulled him back down, reconnecting their lips in a heated kiss.

Marcus tangled a hand in her hair, the other moving to her breast. Her legs wrapped around his hips, grinding against him. The Latino boy could feel his erection straining against his jeans. Andi must have noticed too, because in seconds she was on top of him again, placing soft kisses down his scarred chest to his waistband.

His head dropped back onto the pillows as the blonde unbuckled and unbuttoned his jeans, pulling them down. Before discarding them, she reached into the back pocket and grabbed the condom she had stashed there earlier.

Propping himself up, Marcus looked at her through hooded eyes as she crawled over him and locked their lips together. His tongue entered her mouth, swirling with hers in a passionate dance. Her hand reached behind her, unhooking her bra and letting fall.

Marcus tried not to stare at her, but he could not help but admire the stunning blonde on top of him. Her hair fell around them in a curtain of silky waves, blocking out the rest of the world. He kneaded at her breasts gently, eliciting breathy moans from her soft lips. Almost as if in retaliation for the reaction he got from her, her hand dropped to his member. She reached underneath the band of his boxers and grasped him in her hand. As she began to move her hand, his breath caught.

"I-I haven't, y'know, before," he stuttered, trying to form the words. It was incredibly difficult with what she was doing to him.

"That's okay," she told him with a smile. "I'm sure you're a quick learner." He laughed lightly at the quip.

Andi sat back on her heels, pulling down his boxers and releasing his erect member. She tore open the condom package with her teeth and took out the rubber. She put it on him with expertise that he had not been expecting. It made him a little nervous. That she had done this before. He did not dwell though, instead choosing to show her how quick of a learner he was.

Andi moved to her back as Marcus removed her underwear. He hovered over her as she reached down to position him at her entrance. Rocking his hips forward, he closed the gap. Soft gasps filled the room from each of them. The blonde arched her back, her legs wrapping around him and pulling him deeper into her. Her fingers dug into his scarred back.

He rested his head on her shoulder, taking a deep breath as he got used to the feeling. "Take your time," she whispered to him. And he listened. The last thing he wanted was to be with this girl, who was like something out of a dream, and finish too quickly. When he felt he had control again, he pulled out and pushed back into her.

The brunet boy's slow thrusts soon became quicker, more passionate. His lips met hers again. Gone were the gentle kisses they previously exchanged. The hot kisses, full of lust and longing had returned.

Her nails scratched at his back when his thrusts became frantic. Her breathy moans had become louder, her legs tightening around him. Marcus found he loved the way she bit her lip, trying and failing to remain quiet.

"Marcus," she gasped out, almost sending him over the edge right then. "I'm so close." He groaned in reply. He was close too.

Her hands left his back and clung to the sheets. Marcus shifted, his hands moving to hers, their fingers interlocking. He thrust into her a couple more times before he felt her tighten around him. She came undone under him, jaw slack as she moaned in complete ecstasy. It was all he needed to find his own release.

They stayed in the same position for a moment longer, recovering. Marcus' head rested on her chest before he pulled out and rolled to the side. As his mind cleared, hormones no longer keeping him in a haze, he was able to wrap his mind around what just happened.

Andi rolled onto her side to face him, her hand grazing his chest before moving to caress his swollen lips. As they looked on at each other in their post-sex glow, he expected her to leave right away. He expected her to hurry off the bed and redress quickly, saying how she was drunk and high and it was all a mistake.

Instead, she smiled at him, leaned in to give him a quick peck, and said, "I'm glad I let down my guard with you."

* * *

**Ahh! If I was nervous about the last chapter, I was definitely nervous about this one. Holy shit!**

**I've never written smut before and it probably shows lol. Regardless, I hope you liked it. I officially changed the rating to Mature on Wattpad because I was afraid I would get reported.**

**I think the reason I decided to just bite the bullet and write the last scene, which wasn't originally planned, was because I thought of the implications hooking up with Marcus would have on Andi and her character development. Also, inspiration came from the Bootstraps cover of Stand By Me. You may have heard it in the new Power Rangers movie lol.**

**Enjoy it while it lasts though because if there's anything I like to do, it's make my character's lives difficult.**

**Anyway, how about that new episode? Try and keep spoilers out of the comments since it just aired, but if you wanna chat, send me a PM. I just want to give Maria a hug because she's struggling so much right now. And I wanna give Saya a hug too because she's just trying to help. I wanna give everyone on this show a hug!**


	12. chapter twelve

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

**[**teenage wasteland**]**

**"your past mistakes will fall on your daughter now"**

* * *

Marcus watched as the beautiful blonde redressed. She stood with her back to him, fastening her bra. "Are you just gonna stare at me? Or are you gonna get dressed too?" she turned toward him and asked, a smug look on his face.

Andi reached down and picked up his shirt, throwing it at him and making them both laugh. He caught it before it could hit him and went to pull it over his head. He stopped when he noticed something he had failed to notice during their moment of passion in the dimly lit room.

She had not been kidding when she said she had scars. There were not nearly as many as he had, but there they were. She had managed to keep them hidden. His eyes roamed her half-dressed body, examining the raised, puckered skin of her scars.

There was one on her abdomen. It had been strategically hidden by the high-waist of her skirt.

Another set of scars littered her upper thighs just above where the hem of her skirt fell. One specifically caught his eye. It was in the shape of an "A". His eyes narrowed, rage building up at whoever had marred her skin.

Andi was rather oblivious of his change in mood, turning back around to pick up her shirt. Marcus noticed even more faded scarring on her upper back, arranged like tallies. Six in total. The new Rat gave her credit; she did a hell of a job keeping them subtly covered. Luckily, she did not have to have to alter her wardrobe drastically to do so.

Marcus did not say anything to her about them. He knew that was a story for another time.

Instead, he followed her lead and dressed so they could return to the party. The Latino boy would be lying if he said he was eager to rejoin the crowd. He would much rather spend the rest of the night with Andi, up there in that spare bedroom. A part of him was afraid that once they went back to the rest of the world, her cold exterior from school would return and this time for good.

To cover his own ass, emotionally, he prepared himself not to expect anything past this night to happen between them. They were not dating. She was not his girlfriend. In fact, there was no telling what the blonde would be comfortable with the next day. She was the same girl that threatened him at lunch one day for just being in her presence, to barely batting an eye at his appearance the next.

The sex had been mind-blowing, to say the least. Not that he had anything to compare it too. During their conversation beforehand, there had been such chemistry and understanding between them. It was the first time he saw her on equal grounds as him, and he believed she felt the same. Why else would she open up to him like that?

* * *

Andi led the way back down to the party. No one else bothered with them as they entered the kitchen, each grabbing another can of beer. As she popped the can open, she caught Saya's eye over Marcus' shoulder.

"Hey, I'm gotta talk to Saya for a second. Meet me in the living room?"

Marcus nodded, although she could see a glimmer of uncertainty in his eyes. As if he was worried she was going to toss him to the side. In an attempt to reassure him, the blonde rested her hand on his cheek and leaned up to press her lips to his.

The taller boy immediately responded, moving his lips against hers in perfect sync. It was only meant to be a small peck but quickly turned heated as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

Regretfully, Andi pulled back, afraid that if it continued, she would not be opposed to going for round two right on the kitchen counter. She panted, out of breath, her forehead resting against his. A small laugh escaped her as she playfully pushed him back, "Seriously. I'll just be a second." They shared a dumb grin as he walked away.

The blonde took a sip of her beer and approached Saya who watched Marcus walk off with a smirk. "You two look cozy," Saya said as Andi stood next to her.

"Thanks to you, Miss Wing-woman," Andi joked. "If you hadn't sent him up after me then…"

Saya looked at the blonde and raised her eyebrows. "So you…" She did not finish as Andi bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling and nodded her head. The Kuroki girl chuckled, "Wow. See I told you. You just had to be patient."

"Yeah, yeah," Andi rolled her eyes. "Saya was right. Saya is always right and all-knowing, yada, yada, yada." The two laughed but before Saya could get any more details from the blonde, they heard a loud commotion from the living room.

"Don't you ever talk about my dad again, you yuppie piece of shit!" Andi heard Lex's thick accent yell out. The two girls hurried toward the living room and saw Lex trying to bludgeon Shabnam with an extremely long, red dildo. "Take your mother's dong! Eat your mother's dong!"

Saya pulled out her katana and sliced the dildo in half, the top of it flopping onto the table. Andi was trying to restrain from laughing at the whole situation but failed. Yes, she found Lex annoying. But, Shabnam was also annoying and the scene was entirely too comical to not laugh at.

Andi turned when she heard slow clapping coming from the archway, but just as quickly turned away. "Christ," she muttered to herself, shaking her head. Viktor was still fucking naked.

"There is old KGB wisdom. Sometimes you are dildo, and sometimes you are face."

Suddenly, everyone became alert when sirens sounded off in the distance. "Cops!" someone yelled sending everyone into a panic.

Saya stalked off irritably, while Andi rushed to Marcus. "C'mon, we gotta get you out of here before the cops show up or you're screwed." She grabbed his arm and helped him from his spot on the couch. Rushing out the front door with him, Andi was surprised at how sober she suddenly felt. Apparently, the adrenaline coursing through her veins at the prospect of being arrested was enough to make her think straight.

Although, Marcus seemed to lack her sense of urgency.

The two of them had reached the sidewalk when he froze, staring off at the police cars pulling up. "Marcus, we gotta go now!"

"Shut up!" he yelled, pushing her away and grabbing his head. Andi was not phased. He was freaking out and not at her.

Her hands reached for his, pulling them away from his head and replacing them with her own to make him look at her. "Hey, it's okay. You're okay. But, we have to leave right now or we won't be." He slowly nodded at her.

Realizing he was back with her, the blonde pulled him away from the police and down the street where Simon had parked earlier. Saya was currently trying to put a shitfaced Simon in the front passenger's seat. "Saya!" she called.

"Hurry the fuck up!" the Japanese girl responded.

Marcus and Andi hurried over to the car. They were both getting into the back when a flash of platinum caught the blonde teen's eyes.

In the tree line of Shabnam's neighbor's yard stood a tall woman with short, platinum blonde hair. Her hair was the only thing that made her stand out, the rest of her attire dark and blending in with the nightly scenery.

Andi could not believe her eyes. Maybe she was not as sober as she believed. A woman that she had not seen for almost four years.

"Mom?"

* * *

Saya stood in Master Lin's office the next day waiting for him to return from his outing with Marcus.

The older man returned, hanging up his coat as he addressed the student. "You were right. Marcus did the kill, not Willie," he said to her. "You were right to tell me. The deeds of you pledge are yours to share."

"Yes, sir."

"Tell me his weaknesses."

Saya did not hesitate. "He's a liar, a liability with the cops, and a substance abuser."

"And his greatest weakness?" Master Lin pushed.

Saya paused for a moment. She thought about the teen's interactions with people like Billy and even Andi. He was desperate for a home, to care about people and for them to care about him in return. "His need for friends and family."

"Very good," Lin praised his star pupil. "But you're holding something back."

The Kuroki girl hesitated. The information about Willie she had deduced on her own after witnessing the Rat struggle throughout the day. Lin only confirmed she was correct after his trip to the cemetery with Marcus. But, the information about the boys' home resulted from her eavesdropping on Andi and Marcus' private conversation. Revealing the information felt like she was betraying the blonde as well as Marcus.

The older man already knew she was keeping something from him though. Lying to him would be a big mistake. Perhaps by telling him now, she could save Andi some grief later if the headmaster ever discovered she knew something.

"Marcus didn't kill the kids at the boys' home," she revealed. "His reputation is a lie."

Master Lin furrowed his eyebrows as he stepped around his desk, taking in this new and worrying information. He locked his intense gaze on Saya and she could practically see the gears turning in his head. "So, if he didn't kill them, who did?" he wondered aloud.

Saya was quickly dismissed from his office, leaving the older man to ponder what she had told him. Once outside the door, she released a breath she had not realized she had been holding in. Why did she feel like utter shit after all of that?

It's because you know Andi likes him, and now you're the shit friend that might jeopardize their happiness, a voice in the back of her mind said.

No, Saya thought. Everything would be fine. Everyone would be fine.

* * *

When the young, Kuroki girl exited the room, Lin turned to a shadowy corner in his office. "Andrea keeps some interesting company. I must admit, her becoming close with a Rat was surprising to me."

"Well, she is only second generation," the blonde woman stated, going to sit in a chair across from him. "I was a Rat too. Maybe she recognizes something of herself in him, both outsiders in this place." She pulled a cigarette from her jacket pocket and lit it. Exhaling smoke, her icy eyes met Lin's.

"Perhaps," he stated, stiffly. The information about the boys' home was troubling him. "Lorraine, if I could ask you a favor—," he started before she cut him off.

"I don't do favors, Lin. This Marcus kid… his problems are your own. I don't work for anyone, at least not at the moment."

Lin narrowed his eyes at the woman who he once thought of as a friend. "And you may never work for anyone again at the rate you're going. Have you ever wondered if your issues with trust are rooted in the fact that you have betrayed anyone you've ever worked for?"

Lorraine's jaw clenched at the jab and Lin could tell his words had an effect on her. "Now, you've taught Andrea your ways. To always look over her shoulder, for the knife to stab her in the back."

"And it's going to keep her safe," Lorraine told him sharply.

"Except that it's because of that mentality, she's in danger in the first place. Ouroboros will not stop looking for either of you. They know she's here. They have just been biding their time. Your past mistakes will fall on your daughter now."

Lorraine stood from her chair quickly, almost knocking it to the ground. "You don't think I know that," she snarled at him in a rare, emotional moment. Usually, the tall blonde was typically rather reserved, but it appeared Lin knew her weaknesses well. He knew what buttons to push to make her snap. Not many people did.

He did not flinch at her outburst however, merely taking a seat as she continued to stand before him. The blonde soon realized her folly and pulled herself back together. Taking another puff from the cigarette, she started toward the door, on her way to sneak out of the academy.

"That's why I came here. San Francisco, King's Dominion. They're going to strike soon. She needs to be prepared, not distracted by 'friends' or some boy. I know she still struggles whenever she thinks about that night. It cannot phase her anymore. If Abaddon comes for her again, and she freezes—," Lorraine could not even finish the thought.

Lin watched her as she spoke of the possible consequences Andrea could face because of her. He understood. He understood what a parent was willing to go through for their child. Her resolve hardened as quickly as it had begun to crumble. The blonde looked to him with steely eyes. "Make sure she's ready."

Without another word, Lorraine Broughton exited his office, leaving Lin to wonder if it would be another four years before they spoke again.

* * *

**There we go! It was pretty short and not much action between Andi and Marcus this chapter compared to last. Don't expect many more instances like their hookup in the near future. Despite some 'fast-burn' moments, this is still a slow-burn.**

**This chapter wrapped up episode two and I'm excited to get into episode three. Since there was a time jump between episodes five and six of the show, I will be creating a few original chapters to cover what happens during that time.**

**However, big character introduction in this chapter! Lorraine and Lin having a chat that is the introduction to Andi's story arc. Also, there was the first mention of Abaddon by name. If anyone hasn't seen the cast list since I updated it, Bill Skarsgård is his faceclaim.**

**Lastly, how would you guys feel if I wrote an Umbrella Academy fic? I have a solid concept. I don't know who the love interest would be yet if there would even be one… at least for season one. It wouldn't be a Five story (sorry Five fans) mostly because, although I love him, it's kind of messed up to pair him with an adult, since he has a child's body, and it's also odd to pair him with a younger faceclaim, because he has the mind of a 58-year-old man. The concept I have would not be suitable, though I give kudos to anyone able to work out that issue lol.**

**As always, let me know what you think! I love reading your comments! And thanks so much for 7K+ reads and 500+ votes!**


	13. chapter thirteen

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

**[**sleep deprived**]**

**"ooh, i like it rough"**

* * *

_Her fingers danced across the keys of the piano, playing the melodious tune she had been taught. The song was beautiful and emotional. Andi was glad that Delphine took the time to teach her the piece._

_Focusing on the sheet music in front of her, the blonde poured her heart into the music with discipline and dedication that her French tutor was proud of. When the young girl was playing her music, she was in another world, the notes consuming her and shutting out the elegant, Oklahoma country home around her._

_As the young blonde finished the last notes, Delphine beamed at her and clapped. "_Magnifique!_" the dark-haired woman praised. Andi returned her praise with a shy smile._

_"Thanks, Delphine."_

_"She's right. That was beautiful," Lorraine Broughton said from the doorway of the study. Andi's happiness faltered as she turned to the harsh, blonde woman at the edge of the room. Her mother never interrupted her lessons unless it was important, and if it was important, it was usually bad._

_Andi's smile turned to a frown. "What's wrong?"_

_Lorraine's soft smile fell at her daughter's words. "I have to go on another trip soon."_

_"When?"_

_"Tomorrow." Andi rolled her eyes and began to collect her sheet music. She was not ignorant. She knew what her mother did. Her mother allied herself with everyone and no one at the same time. Never trusting anyone, yet ready to stab her allies in the back when the opportunity presented itself. The only one she managed to have an inkling of trust for was Delphine._

_The young blonde looked to her tutor, "May I be excused?"_

_The French woman looked between the mother and daughter uneasily, nervous to dismiss the girl and upset Lorraine for doing so. "Um—"_

_"Andi, wait!" her mother ordered her, keeping her from leaving._

_"Fine. Just answer one question for me," the twelve-year-old started. "Who's it for this time? Is it Ouroboros? Those wackjobs?"_

_"Andi, you have to understand. Sometimes you have to align yourself with those who were once your enemies to achieve your goals," her mother said._

_The young girl shook her head in disbelief, giving a sarcastic laugh. "Says the woman who only has enemies to align herself with now. You fucked over the whole world and now these crazies are the only ones you have left." The young girl stormed out of the room, leaving her belongings there._

_"Andrea!" Delphine's soft voice called out to the upset blonde._

_Andi did not respond though, not looking back as she exited the house, grabbing her mother's car keys on the way. She glanced behind her but was not surprised when there was no sign of her mother following her. She got in her mother's car, breathing deeply as she tried to calm down._

_Her mother was going to be killed one day because of the games she played with some of the most powerful people in the world. Lorraine was going to get Delphine killed. She was going to get Andi killed. Why couldn't they just be normal, Andi thought. She looked into the rearview mirror and wiped away a single tear that managed to escape._

_"Did you really steal a car when you were twelve?" a voice said from beside her._

_Andi jumped, turning in her seat to see Marcus sitting in the passenger seat. What the hell? Glancing back into the mirror, she saw she was back to her teenage self. Her frustration towards her mother fueled her as she turned back to the Latino teen next to her._

_He gave her a crooked smile, which she returned. "Yeah," Andi answered. "Wanna help me do it again?"_

_She started the car and peeled out of the long driveway that set their country home off the road. The windows rolled down, whipping her hair around her face. The anger and frustration towards her mother disappeared. It was replaced with a sense of freedom she could not even describe._

_Marcus laughed beside her as she let out a loud "Wooo!"_

_Their fun was cut short when red and blue lights lit up their back windshield. "Fuck," the blonde cursed, her and Marcus looking back over their shoulders. The police were right on their tail and Andi had to do something fast._

_The blonde made a few sharp maneuvers to try to lose them. Her efforts failed, however. "Shit, Marcus, we gotta get you out of here," she said as she looked at the lights in her rearview mirror._

_"Who's Marcus?"_

_Andi snapped her head to the passenger's seat so quickly, she thought she would have whiplash. Instead of the cute new kid from school, Abaddon sat next to her._

_She had so many things she wanted to yell at him. She wanted to curse him and forcibly shove him from the moving vehicle. But she froze. All she could do was stare at him with wide eyes as her breathing became more labored. Her chest began to feel tight as if a boa constrictor was squeezing the life from her._

_Then, there was a crash, and it was all gone._

* * *

Andi jolted awake from the roller coaster of a dream she just experienced. She wondered what the hell brought it all on. The blonde told Marcus the story of her stealing her mother's car, maybe that just brought up the other bad memories that came with it. It seemed like every good memory she had was tainted somehow.

It also could have something to do with her seeing her mom. Well, she was not completely sure it was _her_. She has a decent amount of drugs and alcohol in her system at the time. Why would her mother be there anyway? The blonde had not seen her in years and suddenly she cares to pop in for a visit. If Lorraine Broughton was in San Francisco, it did not bode well for Andi.

Forgetting the dream for a moment, the blonde went about getting ready for the day. Today was the start of hazing week for the Rats as the Legacy dance was Friday. She never really participated in hazing week in the past. It seemed rather pointless to her. Her efforts in bitchcraft were much better spent harassing the other legacies when they annoyed the shit out of her anyway. The rats already generally kept their distance and respected her space. Why harass them for leaving her be?

Exiting her room after she finished getting ready, Andi made her way to her locker. As she was grabbing her materials for her first few classes, Simon met up with her.

"How come you look so much better than I do?"

"Good genes," she joked. "But, thanks, I guess." Simon rolled his eyes.

"That's not what I meant," he snipped. "I feel and look like utter shit right now. And you don't even look the least bit hungover."

Andi smiled at him. "One, that's because you were beyond wasted last night, and two, it's because I'm weirdly _not_ hungover. It's strange because I was more hungover from drinking Petra's moonshine than I am right now, and I drank a lot more last night. Guess I just know how to hydrate," she shrugged.

Simon groaned in agony.

"Drama queen," she deadpanned. "Seriously though, you should go drink a gallon of water as soon as possible. You'll probably feel much better if you do."

The taller boy looked down at her for a moment. She did not look sick or hungover, just... exhausted. "You okay? You get enough sleep?"

"I never get enough sleep," she replied. When he continued to look at her with worry, which made him look like a kicked puppy, she sighed, "I just had a nightmare. No big deal. I promise." She lied. Anything involving Abaddon was a big deal. Simon reluctantly accepted her explanation.

"Okay then, not so subtle change of topic. Are you going to the Legacy dance?" Simon asked.

The blonde shrugged and nodded. "Probably. I'll get to hang out with you. And Maria will probably twist Saya's arm and get her to go, so it should be fun enough. Well, hopefully. If Chico's there, he'll suck the fun out of everything. He's been extra clingy and possessive lately."

Simon fumed silently. "He's always extra clingy and possessive. It's what makes him such a fucking dick."

"True," Andi agreed.

The two friends approached the table where two of Brandy's Cheer Death Squad minions were working. Andi was shocked to see Marcus there with Shabnam.

"No Rats at the Legacy dance," Shabnam told the other boy. Andi almost laughed. Marcus did not seem like a school dance kind of guy.

Only to prove her point, he sarcastically snapped at Shabnam, "Oh, bummer. I just had my asshole freshly douched."

"Too much information," Andi called out behind them. The roommates turned to her and Simon. Marcus smirked at her while Shabnam seized up, not knowing what to say to the beautiful blonde.

"Don't tell me you're going?" Marcus asked her.

She tilted her head at him in confusion. "Why so shocked? It's a legacy dance, I'm a legacy. Besides, I'll take any excuse to not be holed up in a dorm with Brandy for a night." Brandy's minions at the table shot her a couple of nasty looks to which she merely threw them the finger.

She looked back to Marcus and wet her lips. "I'd ask you to be my date, but as Shabnam said, no Rats allowed."

"What makes you think I'd even say yes?" he asked, still looking smug.

Andi laughed lightly. "Oh, I know you would," she leaned forward and whispered to him.

"Cocky much?" he asked, using her words from their tryst in the bathroom before their more... intense moment later on the previous night. Apparently, the other two teens had been watching Andi and Marcus' exchange with a combination of curiosity and well...

Simon seemed to take notice of Shabnam's fidgeting around Andi. "You okay there Shab? Looking a little nervous. Maybe feeling a little tight in the pants. I mean, I know Andi is hot, but c'mon mate, control yourself a bit. We're in public."

Shabnam looked even more anxious than before after that comment. Andi glared at Simon and smacked him rather roughly on the arm.

He laughed and flinched away slightly. "Ooh, I like it rough," he joked.

The blonde's cheeks flushed pink. "Shut up," she scolded.

Andi never blushed, but Simon's forward comment around Marcus took her off guard. Apparently, Marcus was not a fan of Simon this morning either as he glared at the taller teenager for his comments, both towards Shabnam and about Andi.

"Just get our damn tickets," Andi told Simon. He stepped forward, between Marcus and Shabnam, grabbing the tickets from one of the minions who gave him a flirty smile. Before any other quips and comments could be made, the blonde grabbed him by the arm and dragged him off to class, only sparing Marcus a small smile over her shoulder as she walked away.

* * *

If it was not obvious already, Marcus was not a fan of Simon Aster. If it was not the jab at Shabnam, it was the quip toward Andi. It was just his whole demeanor. He was a pompous ass.

The new Rat did not know how to feel about the whole conversation that took place. He was glad that he and Andi were still getting along outside of the party atmosphere. Their teasing comments let him believe that she was not regretting anything that happened between them. However, Simon's mean-spirited jest at Shabnam made something churn within him, a sort of anger directed at his roommate.

He knew that other people found the blonde attractive. It was just a fact that she was. But, the thought of others lusting after her, whether it was Simon or Shabnam, made him uneasy. The worst thing about it, he hated that felt like that. Andi was not his girlfriend. She was just the girl he hooked up with at a party. Sure, he liked her, and he definitely hoped that there would be a repeat, but he had no claim on her.

Trying to dispel those feelings, he started toward class with Shabnam still beside him.

"I didn't realize you and Andi were such good friends," the teen said a little uneasily.

Marcus nodded. "Yeah. It's kind of a new development," he answered simply.

"All right. Well, despite your friendship, you should still be careful. Week of the dance, Legacy hazing is a time-honored tradition," his roommate explained to him.

Just to cement the warning, the two turned when they heard a loud yell from down the hall. Billy stood by his locker with a mousetrap stuck to his hand. As he watched the green-haired boy yell and clutch at his injured hand, Marcus thought about Shabnam's warning.

Would Andi do something to him and the rest of the Rats? Was their new civility just a joke? Now, as the paranoia set in, he understood her trust issues a little better.

* * *

**Not 100% happy with this chapter, but I had to post something to move forward into episode three.**

**So, Shabnam mentions that the week of the dance is Legacy hazing, yet the episode seems to take place in a single day. I'm gonna stretch that out a little more. I'll mix some episode scenes in with original parts and I won't make it too long, but just stretch it out. In the next chapter or two expect a one-on-one scene between Andi and Maria. I mentioned how they are closer than Saya and Andi, yet I've focused a lot on building the Saya/Andi friendship. With Chico's possessive behavior, Maria has not been a big part of the story so far and I want to change that.**

**Even though it obviously wasn't written in the 1980s, the piano piece I imagine her playing is Time by Hans Zimmer. You should check out the piano version on YouTube. It's beautiful!**

**Anyway, let me know what you think as always! I have many plans for the future!**

**Also, anyone who saw, I posted my Umbrella Academy fic. I am not sure when I'll be updating the next chapter just yet. I want to prewrite some, like with my Billy fic, before I start publishing.**


	14. chapter fourteen

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

**[**blowgun puns**]**

**"you'll make your ancestors proud"**

* * *

"Blowguns were used by the jungle people of Nicaragua for thousands of years 'til the Soviets gave them janky Kalashnikovs," DeLuca taught as she paced the front of the room. "To use one, you must be centered with total focus. Well, let's see what you've got."

The class split into four rows, lined up with their blowguns to take their shot at the dummies set up for them. Andi watched from the back of the line as Marcus made his attempt. It was a rather sad attempt, his dart leaving the blowgun and immediately dropping to the floor. The blonde winced as Marcus looked around embarrassed before walking to the back of the line.

She turned to him as he stood behind her. "You blew it," she said, trying to keep a smile off her face. He shook his head at her and let out a small laugh. She could not help it anymore; she smiled at him and laughed too.

"Did you just make a blowgun pun?" he teased.

"Absolutely," she replied before the smile faded. "In all seriousness though, that was kind of pathetic."

Marcus winced slightly, "Yeah…"

"You could start by not holding it backwards." She watched as he looked down at the blowgun incredulously. He had not even realized that it was fucking backwards. "You would be so lost without me."

Marcus flipped the blowgun around in his hands so that it was facing the right direction and then loaded a new dart. Andi gave him another tip, "Space your hands out and grip it with your fingertips, like you're playing the flute, not trying to Hulk smash something." He smirked at her reference and she caught him. "Yeah, I know who the Hulk is. Just watch me, okay?" He nodded as she stepped forward for her turn.

Andi squared her shoulders towards her target and demonstrated the tips she told Marcus. The dart left her blowgun and planted itself in the dummy's forehead, right between the eyes. She turned to DeLuca who gave her an approving nod. The blonde looked to Marcus, "Do what I just did and you'll make your ancestors proud."

Marcus let out a sarcastic laugh as the girl practically skipped to the back of the line. Andi leaned to the side to peek around the others in front of her as she watched Marcus' second attempt. She smiled as he doubled checked the blowgun was facing the right direction and then changed the positioning of his hands. When he shot the dart, it actually hit the dummy. It was not as well struck as Andi's but it was significant progress.

He walked to the back of the line and Andi nudged him with her elbow playfully. "I knew you were a fast learner."

The rest of Blow Dart Workshop went by rather quickly. Marcus' aim only improved with each attempt, and Andi could not help but feel a little pride. The class was soon dismissed, everyone leaving for the bathrooms to change back into their uniforms.

Andi went to follow when DeLuca called out to her. "Andi, can I speak with you for a moment?"

The blonde quickly approached the teacher, "Yes Ms. DeLuca?"

"If Marcus continues at his pace, the legacies are going to eat him alive. However, you did very well in helping him in class today." Andi was confused by the topic of conversation. DeLuca was usually a severe woman, a badass but definitely a no nonsense kind of person. She typically turned her head at weakness, keeping the mindset that the drive to improve came from within one's self. That if you were to succeed, you would, and if you were to fail, then you would only have yourself to blame.

"Thank you…" Andi replied hesitantly. She almost thought she saw the corners of DeLuca's mouth rise in the ghost of a smile.

"Your circumstances of being here are rather unique compared to the other legacies. You were not trained as they were before they became students. You were normal," the teacher continued.

"Relatively," Andi muttered under her breath. She did not think her childhood was normal compared to other kids her age. However, she supposed compared to the likes of Saya and Maria who grew up amongst the criminal undergrounds of the world, and people like Simon and Viktor who had been trained to defend themselves from a young age, she had arrived to King's Dominion rather… inexperienced.

The combat teacher ignored her comment. "It's why I believe you would be a good candidate to help Mr. Arguello catch up. Only if he agrees to it of course. I would never force anyone to accept help they did not want."

Andi silently wondered if this was all a test. Testing her weaknesses and Marcus'. Typically, asking for help was seen as a sign of weakness around here. Typically, offering to help was seen as compassion, and therefore, also a sign of weakness. DeLuca despised weakness, so why was she advocating for Andi to tutor Marcus?

Before the blonde could question it, the taller woman cut off any response. "Finals will be here before you know it. Study well. You best be off to your next class." DeLuca left the room, leaving Andi to ponder the thought as she went to change.

* * *

After the incident with Billy poisoning Viktor and making the Russian teen shit his pants, lab partners were switched up for everyone. It definitely soured some of the class, having to split up from their friends. Andi and Maria were no longer partners, which sucked.

Poison Lab was one of the only classes she had with the Latina without Chico's presence. It gave them time to catch up and hang out during school without worrying about their rivalling social cliques. Now Maria was stuck with Chico's lap dog, and Andi's ex-fling, Juan.

Andi was luckier. She was paired with Billy. Okay, so maybe lucky was not the exact term she would use. The blonde enjoyed the green-haired boy's company. He was not an asshole and he was great comic relief. However, his dedication to receiving a passing grade in Poison Lab was, well, lacking. At least with Maria, she never had to worry about dangerous chemicals exploding or ending up covered in corrosive acid. Billy was a little clumsy and scatter-brained when it came to the substances and solutions they dealt with daily.

Another pro of their new seating arrangement though, was she was still close with Marcus. It almost made her laugh, thinking about how a few days ago she had dreaded the boy being so close to her all the time. Now, his presence was almost comforting, and she could not quite explain why.

However, another con was Marcus' lab partner, Jaden. Jaden was a typical stoner. Andi had never paid much mind to him until today when she found herself constantly annoyed by his wandering eyes. At Shabnam's party, she vaguely remembered him making a small pass at her before she blew him off to go smoke with Marcus. Now, she was acutely aware of how his eyes rarely left her ass as he sat behind her.

Ignoring him and everything else, she focused on the Mellow Yellow that was boiling over the Bunsen burner. Denke made his rounds, giving both Petra and her encouraging looks as he passed. Andi smiled. This was the second teacher today to give her a look of approval.

If all else in her life went to shit, at least she was doing well in school.

Her attention was drawn to Billy when he began laughing somewhat hysterically. Andi gave him a concerned glance as the green-haired boy continued to giggle and turn toward Jaden. "Rat trap." Billy pretended to try to stifle his laughter before turning back to the stoner who gave him a disgusted look. "I get it, I get it, I—," he held up his hands like claws and began making a bunch of weird noises, which Andi could only guess was supposed to be his imitation of a rat.

Jaden shook his head as Billy continued to laugh.

Andi and Marcus looked at each other and the blonde shifted her eyes towards the beaker of Mellow Yellow that Jaden was boiling before meeting Marcus' eyes again. The Arguello boy glanced down before leaning towards Jaden.

"Let me grab those jelly beans," he said, reaching forward and knocking the beaker off the burner, spilling its contents onto Jaden. Andi bit her lip to hide the laugh. Jaden had this coming for a while. The comment at Marcus about Reagan in the last Poison Lab class, which the curly-haired teen brilliantly just threw back in his face, and catching Billy's hand in a rattrap were only the tip of the iceberg of shit he had been stirring lately.

Andi was unable to contain her blatant laughter anymore when the moody stoner jumped from his chair. "The fire, it's… it's… it's inside me!" Billy and the rest of the students joined in the laughter as Shabnam tried to lead Jaden to the nurse calmly. "Get away!"

"Karma, man. Kar-ma," Billy said.

After the episode, Denke dismissed the class. Andi went to meet with Marcus, ready to offer him some help after thinking about what DeLuca said.

Fuck weakness. Tutoring Marcus was not showing weakness. Weakness was letting something happen, letting someone fail when you had the power to stop it. Weakness was letting what others thought of you dictate how you live your life, because that gave them power over you. If anyone—DeLuca, the other teachers, the legacies—if they thought that tutoring Marcus was showing weakness, then fuck them.

"Hey, I actually wanted to talk to you about something," she started.

Marcus nodded and stood, adjusting his backpack strap over his shoulder. "Yeah, sure. Let's—," he started, but was cut off my Denke.

"Stay put," the older man told him, pushing him back into his seat by his shoulder.

Andi and Marcus exchanged an awkward look with their teacher before the Latino boy waved her on. "G-Go ahead. I'll catch up." Andi nodded and left, wishing him luck that Denke would not be too hard on him.

After a few minutes, he exited the room to see the blonde girl waiting for him. He smiled at her and Andi returned it. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Uh, yeah," she said. Andi had not been expecting him to finish his conversation with Denke so quickly. The two started towards the cafeteria for lunch, as she brought up the topic of tutoring him. "So I've been thinking…"

"Don't hurt yourself," he quipped.

The blonde rolled her eyes and hip checked him, making him stumble slightly with a laugh. "Ha-ha. Anyway, believe it or not, I actually know what it's like to come to King's and be horrible at pretty much everything." He raised his eyebrow at her, obviously not convinced. "It's true! I grew up in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma. I was homeschooled, but not in Krav Maga or How-to-Get-Away-with-Murder. I was so sickeningly normal and that was how my mom wanted it. But, when I came here, I had to learn it all without any help and it sucked. So… I'm offering to help you if you need it."

"You want to tutor me?" Marcus said, smiling down at the short blonde.

She nodded. "Yeah. If you want to stand a chance against some of these assholes, you gotta step up your game. Right now, you're a rat in a pit of snakes. With a little help, you may actually be able to give some of these guys a run for their money."

Marcus nodded to her. "Let's do it. I'm desperate and tired of being shit at everything." He stopped walking and Andi turned to him. With a smirk, he leaned down and whispered to her, "Besides, you've proven to be a pretty good teacher."

Andi tried to keep from flushing at his insinuation. His closeness reminded her of the previous night. It sent a shiver down her spine. He pulled back, a smug smile present on his lips. She remembered what those lips felt like against hers, how his hands felt as they caressed her bare body.

The blonde bit her lip as she watched him walk away, her eyes drifting as they looked him over. Damn, he looked _really_ good in that uniform. Catching her train of thought, she shook her head.

No. Sleeping with him was supposed to get him out of her system, not keep him there. Shit, she thought.

Glancing around the hallway, she spotted Saya at her locker. Andi did not care if anyone saw them speaking during school hours. She just needed to talk to her friend. "It didn't work," Andi told the Kuroki girl, just now realizing that she was falling in deeper with her feelings towards the new Rat.

Saya sighed. "What didn't work?"

"Hooking up with Marcus at the party. I still like him. I think I like him more. Fuck," Andi said, starting to freak out a little. Having separated herself from feelings for the last few years, being flooded with them suddenly was a bit of a shock to her system. She never _liked_ a guy before. This was uncharted territory.

The dark-haired girl turned to her blonde friend, her hands resting on Andi's shoulders comfortingly. "Relax. Take deep breaths. Maybe just keep your distance from him for a little. You seemed to enjoy yourself last night so maybe it just needs some time to fade. It's all still fresh in your mind."

"Yeah, that would be a great idea, except I'm supposed to be helping him with some classwork. I literally _just_ finished telling him that. I can't take it all back now after I proposed the whole thing only a minute ago," Andi ranted.

Saya returned to changing out her schoolbooks from her locker. "As long as you keep it professional, it shouldn't be an issue. You can do that." It was not a question. Saya had faith in Andi. She could handle herself in a professional manner with the guy she just had sex with the night before. Maybe.

Andi smiled. "Thanks," the blonde said, calming down just as Maria skipped over to them.

She leaned against the locker to Saya's other side. "You're coming to the dance with us on Friday, right?" the Latina asked Saya. She and Andi looked at the Kuroki girl expectantly.

Saya groaned in dread.

"I don't know," Andi started. "The dance might be fun."

"I'd rather eat glass," Saya deadpanned back. "There's a show at the Stone," she recommended instead.

Maria smiled at her. "We're banned," she reminded.

Andi and Saya looked at each other remembering that night. "Right…" they answered in unison.

"The bouncer with the curious hands," Saya added.

Maria laughed, "Not so curious after we were done with him, _hermanas_."

Andi tried to convince her. "You should come with us. It'll be fun. A girls' night, just the three of us. No Chico, no Simon, no guys at all. Maria and I were going to go dress shopping later this we—," Saya cut her off.

"No. If I go, I'm _not_ wearing a dress."

Andi held her hands up in surrender. "Fine, no dress. But does that mean you're gonna go?"

Saya glanced back and forth between the two girls on either side of her, their optimistic faces smiling and full of hope. "Fine," she answered. "But there is no way I'm going sober."

"Well, of course not," Maria answered. "That was never part of the plan."

* * *

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay! I've went home for a visit so I was gone and busy for the last few days. I got back on Saturday but then immediately went back to work and had no chapters outlined. But, I have like the next four chapters planned out now and will hopefully be able to crank them out rather quickly. **

**Next chapter, expect some Marcus/Andi. The chapter after that I have some more Marcus/Andi planned as well as some Simon who was absent in this chapter, as well as Maria and Andi bonding. **

**I want to say thank you all soooo much! I saw this story hit 10K views and I wanted to update so bad but couldn't and now I'm at over 11K views! You are all seriously the best!**

**I've begun to write out my first Umbrella Academy chapter so that story is in the works too. Thanks to you readers who show my other stories some love!**

**Lastly, I just want to say RIP to Luke Perry who passed after suffering a massive stroke. You may know him from 90210 or as Mr. Andrews on Riverdale. He was only 52 years old. For someone who was younger than my own parents, it really puts into perspective how fragile life is. So remember to savor each and every moment and to take care of yourselves! Thoughts and prayers to his friends and family.**


	15. chapter fifteen

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

**[**addicted**]**

**"lesson number two, distractions equal death"**

* * *

Andi pushed the food around her plate, not hungry enough to eat yet not bored enough to join in with the conversation at the table.

Simon had insisted she sit with the Preps at lunch. The blonde usually was not so inclined to give in to his whims but decided to play along today. The London teen she could take. He had this cocky, smartass front to the rest of the school, but when it was just them and their actual friends hanging out, he was much more tolerable. However, sitting here now with these rich posers, it was as if Andi was realizing all over again how fake everyone at this school was.

Even her.

The blonde put on an indestructible front. She was a loner. An angel, yet a devil. An anomaly amongst King's student body. She pretended she could actually call these people friends, yet she did not reciprocate the affections that friends should show each other. She could not. She was fake. She was a shattered, porcelain doll that had duct taped herself back together, pretending not to be broken when that is exactly what she was.

Looking up from her untouched meal, she turned to Simon who carried the conversation with the Preps. He was the center of attention. He was charismatic. A leader. Someone who stuck with the status quo of the school. At least, he did on the outside. The real Simon, the genuine Simon, was a boy terrified of not living up to his father's accomplishments. He drowned his worries in alcohol on weekends and saved-face in the hallways during the week. He loved a girl trapped in an abusive relationship. The same girl whose existence he had to practically deny every time he passed by her on the way to class.

The fakeness made Andi feel sick.

The more she tried to look for an escape from the facades of her peers, the more she realized that there was not an escape. Everyone had some lie they were telling to keep up appearances. Even Marcus.

Andi had not believed him at first when he told her that he did not kill those kids at the boy's home. Maybe he was just trying to soften her up, she thought. Trying to get her to drop her guard. The blonde was not sure when she started to actually believe him. Maybe it was when he showed Shabnam compassion, despite the guy being seriously annoying. Or, maybe it was when he stood up to Lex at the party. Or, maybe... it was seeing how bothered he was by the fact that _he_ killed that homeless man, not Willie.

Regardless, she did not doubt him now.

Nevertheless, that also proved her point. Marcus may have told her that he was innocent of that particular atrocity, but everyone else still believed he was guilty. It had been his ticket into this school. The only reason he was there. If it got out, then Andi worried what would happen.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, she thought, seeing the Arguello boy walk into the cafeteria with the rest of the Rats. He looked out over the crowd of students and their eyes met. She gave him a smile that he returned.

Marcus may be faking it like everyone else, but he was still one of the good ones.

Suddenly, the cafeteria got quiet. Andi looked at the rest of the Preps confused but realized their attention was elsewhere. All of them had their eyes locked on the Rats' table in anticipation.

Dread filled the pit of Andi's stomach as she saw Chico start toward them from the Soto Vatos' table. The day before was the first day of legacy hazing, or as Andi liked to call it, Hell Week. The Rats got off relatively scot-free. Aside from Billy's bandaged fingers due to the rat trap.

Apparently, it had just been quiet because the legacies were plotting. The calm before the storm.

"_Qué hubo? Qué hubo?_" the Soto Vatos leader started. "How's lunch? Special recipe today." He paused as realization struck the table that the legacies had fucked with their lunch. Even from her spot, Andi could see and watched with disgust as Billy pulled a long rat-tail from his food. "Rat. The other white meat," Chico ended with a nasty smirk.

Laughter caught like wildfire around the cafeteria as the Rats began to spit out their food and make a mad dash out of the room. Even though she knew her food had not been tampered with, any appetite the blonde may have had was gone now.

Marcus was the last to leave, calmly standing. He shot a glare at Chico as he turned to leave, somehow managing to keep himself from spitting out his sabotaged lunch.

Andi wanted to follow him, to check on him and make sure he and the rest were all right. She started to stand when Simon grabbed her shoulder and pushed back into her seat. "Stay here," he warned her. It was not malicious. It was not a demand. He was honestly concerned that she was going to be pulled into the Rats' drama. "Now is definitely _not_ the time you want to be associated with them."

"Screw all of you. I'm not associated with anyone, remember? I can do whatever I want because I'm not in any stupid gang. I'm not a Prep, and I'm sure as hell glad that I'm not!" she seethed, standing up. Before she left she bent down to look Simon in the eyes. "Did you know that was going to happen?"

"No... Well, n-not exactly. I knew that Chico was planning something for lunch, but I-I didn't know what," Simon stuttered, not expecting her to be this upset. "Look, I'm sorry. You usually don't care that much during Hell Week."

He was right. She usually did not care. This time she did though. Now she knew the Rats. She got along relatively well with Petra in class. Billy was a nice guy. Lex was still an asshole, but hey, there was not much she could do about that.

The real reason she was so upset though, and she knew it, was because Marcus had been targeted. He was the kid that literally threw himself into the line of fire so his friends would not suffer. He looked out for others in a school where selfishness was rewarded. And all he ever got in return was people fucking with him all the time. It upset Andi more than she was comfortable with. It upset her because she cared about him.

Without another word, afraid she would say something to Simon she could not take back; she grabbed her bag and left the cafeteria in search of the boy who, in just a few days, had managed to break down some of her walls.

* * *

Marcus followed Billy and Lex out of the bathroom, the two raving about their plan for vengeance. He wanted to join in, but his impulses were tamed when he thought of Denke's warning. He would lay low. He would pick his battles.

"Marcus!" a familiar voice called out. Andi hurried down the hall before stopping in front of him.

He would have smiled at her, however, the cafeteria incident only brought up mixed feelings. Shabnam had expressed concern over their friendship earlier, making Marcus question their relationship and increasing his paranoia. But then, why would she offer to help him and, a day later, be a part of the plot to haze him and the other Rats? It did not make sense but he was wary all the same. Was everyone at this school just playing him?

He saw the worry and confusion on her face, as he remained neutral. "Did you know they were going to do that?" he asked, unknowingly almost repeating what she had asked Simon minutes ago. She recoiled slightly, his tone sharp and distrusting.

"No, of course not. Hell Week is moronic. It's just a time where everyone pretends they don't fucking hate each other and team up to harass the Rats. By next week, they'll be at each other's throats again like this week never happened. Next year, it will happen all over again in a vicious cycle." He remained quiet as she went on.

"I wouldn't do that to you," she insisted, her voice soft. She crossed her arm and hunched her shoulders in an anxious fashion. Marcus's gaze softened as he looked down at her. He felt guilty for his harsh accusation after they had started to get closer.

"I-I know you wouldn't. I-I don't know why I said that."

Andi shrugged, giving him a half-smile. "I know why. It's the same reason I would be suspicious. Trust is a fickle bitch. You want to trust someone, but it's like your brain sets off alarms and warning bells throughout your body saying not too. It becomes so ingrained in you to listen to those warnings over time that it's second nature."

It was true. Those years in the boy's home and being homeless on the street had made him cynical and suspicious. He was able to make friends with the likes of his fellow Rats, but others he had issues with. Marcus thought that he and Willie were on the way to being friends, but apparently, that friendship only counted behind closed doors. The F.W.O. leader was standing with Chico and the other legacies as they laughed at the Rats misfortune.

Andi, though... Andi did not laugh. The blonde stood in front of him concerned after the ordeal.

"I'm starting to realize... Thanks for checking on me—I mean us, thanks for checking on us," he caught himself with a nervous laugh. She smiled at him as he ran a hand through his curls.

"No problem. You should probably go brush your teeth though," she added.

Marcus nodded, "Oh, yeah, definitely. I'll get right on that."

"You do that. Don't want the taste of rat in your mouth during our tutoring session later. Combat Training Room, 7 o'clock?"

She bit her plump bottom lip as she waited for his answer. "Sounds great."

Andi laughed. "You might not be thinking that after I kick your ass."

* * *

Marcus entered the Combat Room later that night. His eyes shifted from corner to corner as he tried to find the blonde girl who was hiding in the shadows. "Andi?" he called out getting no response. There was no sign of her, not even a glimpse of her silver-blonde hair.

The girl did not keep him waiting for long, choosing to make her move sooner rather than later. She snuck out from her hidden position and approached the oblivious boy quickly. Grabbing his right arm, she twisted it behind his back and kicked out his knee, sending him to the ground.

Marcus fell to his knees and cried out in shock as well as a little bit of pain. Andi smirked, "First lesson, be aware of your surroundings." She released her hold and he began to rub his shoulder. The blonde moved in front of him as he glared at her smug expression.

"Got it," he answered with a slight sneer. Andi held her hand out to help him up which he took without comment. "So is that what I can expect from this tutoring session? You beating the shit out of me?"

Andi shrugged. "Yep, pretty much."

"Great."

"Chill, drama queen," she scoffed. "The goal of this session is for me to point out your weaknesses and your strengths. By pointing out your weaknesses, it makes you aware of what they are and gives you something to work on. By pointing out your strengths, it lets you know what your good at in the meantime in case you try to pick any more fights, which frankly with you is a given." The blonde smiled brightly to him. "Consider this: How to Save Your Ass 101."

He ran a hand through his dark curls, mentally preparing himself for the beating he signed himself up for. However, despite dreading the bruises that were sure to come, he was thankful for her help.

Marcus looked over the girl in front of him. He had not seen her in anything besides her carefully constructed outfits or school uniform, but now she was wearing a pair of King's Dominion sweatpants, a plain white tank top, and her feet were bare on the padded floor. The Arguello boy tried not to focus on the fact that he could see her bra through the fabric of her tight shirt.

Even though they were getting along just fine since they hooked up, Marcus was still unsure of where they stood relationship-wise. They had not known each other very long and both had their share of trust issues. But, he was not really a casual sex kind of guy. He really liked her. Even if they were just friends, he would be fine with that. Okay, well he would wish they were more than 'just friends', but he would still be all right if she did not feel comfortable enough to be more.

When the blonde realized he was not listening to her, she smacked him upside the head. "Are you going to start paying attention, or are you going to stare at my chest all night?"

He had not even realized what he was doing. He must have spaced out. Of course, he spaced out with his eyes locked on the one area he was trying _not_ to focus on. The Nicaraguan boy felt his cheeks warm as he flushed and tried to save face. "I-I didn't mean to... I was just—"

"Just not paying attention," she finished, proving that what she had said was exactly what he was doing.

"S-Sorry. Um, continue. I'm listening, I swear."

Marcus tried to pay attention as Andi ran through some techniques with him. Apparently, his teenage hormones did not get the memo. After being tossed to the ground for the eleventh time that night, yes, he was counting, the Rat finally managed to get the upper hand and pin the blonde.

They were both panting from the exertion, thin layers of sweat covering their bodies. Marcus straddled her, her wrists pinned on either side of her. The two remained in that position for a minute as they caught their breath, but Marcus was getting distracted again.

Andi's hair had begun to escape its ponytail, leaving blonde wisps to frame her heart-shaped face. Her scar along her hairline was exposed, the blonde no longer trying to cover it now that he knew it was there. Her hooded blue eyes held a certain glint as they moved back and forth from his eyes to his lips.

She bucked her hips as if attempting to throw him off, but her attempt was weak and the friction only caused his arousal to spike. He closed his eyes and suppressed a groan. When he reopened them, he saw her bite her bottom lip seductively.

Marcus leaned down to close the gap, his lips hovering over hers. Their noses brushed and Andi rolled her hips up to meet his again. Any thought that did not involve her escaped him at that moment as he closed the distance.

Their lips met in a clash, their tongues in a passionate dance. It was rough but neither party was complaining. His hands released her wrists, one remaining by her head to keep him propped above her, the other clutching her hip and closing the distance between their lower halves.

He felt her one hand weave into his curls, her nails caressing his head and sending shivers down his spine. Her other hand, like his, moved lower to close the gap between them. Her legs hooked around him as they continued to grind against each other.

They reluctantly pulled apart to take a breath but were only separated for a second when Marcus' mouth trailed down her neck. He kissed and sucked at her porcelain skin, leaving a series of love bites in his wake. Andi did what she could to resist the pleasure-filled moans that wanted to escape her.

Marcus did not even realize what was happening until it was too late.

Skillfully, the blonde separated herself from him and flipped herself into the dominant position. Marcus groaned in frustration as the blonde pushed him face first into the padded floor of the combat room. His arm twisted behind him, her knee was digging into his back, keeping him pinned. The Arguello boy's head was turned just enough to see a smirk on her lips, swollen from their heated exchange.

She leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Lesson number two, distractions equal death."

* * *

Andi escaped to the girl's locker room to shower and change after her tutoring session with Marcus. Typically, she enjoyed letting the steaming hot water from the showerhead relax her aching muscles, but this time she was opting for a cold shower.

She had meant to keep it professional, and well, she failed... epically.

When Marcus finally managed to pin her, she had been impressed. That had been when the idea to distract him struck her. She would have pulled the same move on any other guy. They were usually predictable, letting their dick distract them from the task at hand. Especially when that task was currently lying underneath them in the form of a beautiful woman. Unless, of course, they preferred the company of men, in which case, that was the exception to the rule.

However, Andi had seriously underestimated how attracted she and Marcus were to one another. Yes, they had slept together. But, she had slept with other people before and they were perfectly all right going their separate ways at the end of the night.

When Marcus leaned down to kiss her during their session, she wanted it desperately. Too desperately.

He was like a drug to her. She thought that fucking him out of her system would work. That it would sate the wanting and the curiosity, but like with drug users and abusers, one hit is never enough. After the party, she craved the taste of his lips, to feel his hands roam her body. The more she denied herself another hit, the more intense the craving became. It was why when he kissed her, she did not know if she would be able to stop it from going further.

Andi hated it.

She was never like this. Never had she pined for someone so strongly. Juan and Viktor were casual. They were there and gone like any other fleeting, teenage social fad. Marcus stayed with her though. She could not shake him.

The blonde turned on the cold water and stepped under it. It chilled her, making her muscles spasm involuntarily at the contrast in temperature. As she washed her hair and body, she tried to get a handle on her thoughts.

She had to be honest with herself. Marcus was not going away. He was staying at King's. He was still going to need tutoring. He was still going to have an effect on her. She just needed to figure out what to do about it.

Was she ready for a relationship?

No, she was not. She could barely recognize her friends as friends thanks to all her mental and emotional baggage. Having a boyfriend at this point in her life would only be chaos for both of them. She needed to deal with her demons before she let them ruin anyone else.

* * *

**So, I've just been really lazy with this update. I had all but the end of it written like two days ago, but instead of just finishing it, I decided to sleep instead.**

**All I have to say is, again, thank you all for the support! Next chapter, there will be some actual conversation and Andi/Marcus bonding, not just them making out. Andi/Simon and Andi/Maria bonding also to come.**

**I want to make a few dedications for those who have really helped me stay inspired with this story:**

** -harveykinkles YellowNostalgia uchihaskickass abcmncticn elevensparker -inslaytiable**

**They all have awesome Deadly Class stories that if you haven't checked out, you should! They are amazing and help keep me thinking of ideas for this book!**

**Also, last comment, I just want to state that I have always highly disliked Shabnam. Even before I read the comics and before this past episode that revealed him to be the weasel I knew he was. It may be an unpopular opinion, but if you want to know the full extent of why I dislike him so, feel free to PM me or comment. :)**


	16. chapter sixteen

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

**[**own worst enemy**]**

**"i'm pretty sure that guy called me a clumsy bitch in chinese"**

* * *

Simon had been trying to talk to Andi all morning, but it seemed the blonde was perfectly content ignoring him. He knew she was pissed about what happened at lunch the day before. He honestly had not known what Chico was planning, but he had known _something_ was going to happen. And did he stop it? No.

It was difficult for him. Falling in line with everyone else is easy. Going against the grain is where he had problems. The Preps were his people. He did not necessarily enjoy their company all the time, but it was nice to know that certain people had your back.

However, it was not friendship. The security that came with being the leader of the Preps was conditional. There were certain things he could _not_ do and certain things he _had_ to do to stay protected. He already displayed weakness at the insistence that Andi receive protection despite the fact she was not aligned with their group. If he started trying to stick up for the Rats too, then both he and the blonde were done for.

Andi did not even know how much more difficult her life would be without the Preps protection. One slip up and Kendall would use to the opportunity to usurp Simon's leadership in a second. Then he and Andi were as good as Rats.

You never wanted to be the lone guy in the prison yard.

The two probably be even worse off than the Rats, seen as traitors to their legacy titles. They would be looked at as if they had forsaken their blood right as elite members of King's Dominion.

Simon tried to push the doom and gloom from his thoughts as he tracked down Andi. He _had_ to talk to her. As much as he worried about all of it, he would rather have her as his friend and be exiled from the Preps than be stuck with all those stuck-up wankers without the relief of her presence.

He found her by her locker as lunch began. Her silver-blonde hair pinned away from her face as she sorted through books. The Londoner rushed to her side, "Hey, I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Well, you found me," she replied shortly, not in the mood for a conversation.

"I wanted to apologize again. I should've told you that something was going to happen. I just don't want you to get pulled into Hell Week just because you like Marcus, okay?" He ignored the way she tensed as he said those words. "I know I should've let you make the decision on your own. I won't let it happen again."

"Fine. You have to let me know if you find out about anything else they're planning though."

"I will. I swear I will," he promised.

Andi slammed her locker door shut. She started to walk away, Simon following. It only took him a second to realize they were heading towards the dorms instead of the cafeteria. "Why are you—?"

"I'm going to meet up with Marcus to study. I highly doubt he'll be anywhere near the cafeteria after what happened yesterday."

Simon simply nodded. "Did you guys really sleep together at Shabnam's party?" he asked innocently.

The blonde groaned, cursing the school's gossip mill under her breath. Killing may be what the school was known for, but the information flow through the student body was notable as well. "How do you know that?"

She did not deny it. "One of Brandy's Dixie dickheads said you both came out of the bathroom together and then some others mentioned how they saw you both leaving one of the bedrooms later on." She rolled her eyes. "I mean, Petra and Viktor's hookup was definitely the talk of the school, but a few people didn't forget about you."

"Fantastic," she muttered before confirming his suspicions. "Yeah, we had sex. You gonna lecture me again?"

Simon sighed, "No. I just want you to be careful. I know that you aren't much of an open book. Hell, you are probably my best friend, yet I know so little about you." He knew more than she thought but he kept that to himself. "If you like him, then you should let yourself _like_ him. Being the good friend that I am, I am encouraging you to go for it."

"Who are you and what have you done with Simon?" she asked seriously making the tall, brunet boy laugh. "I'm frankly concerned. Is this like _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ or something?"

The two friends shared a laugh.

The words may have seemed foreign coming from him, who previously had been all for the blonde avoiding the new Rat. But, he was tired. Tired of the social rules and tired of being a bad friend who pushed Andi to succumb to peer pressure. If she was happy, then he was happy. And if she was happy with Marcus, then he would... deal with it.

"Nope. I am one-hundred percent myself."

Andi shook her head at him with a smile.

"Besides," he continued. "No alien body snatcher could ever perfect my charm and wit."

The blonde scoffed, "Sure, we'll go with that."

Simon put a hand to his chest, acting offended, "Rude."

They were almost at the dorms when he asked, "So are you going to go out with him or something?"

The smile fell from her face, the melancholy expression she usually wore when stressed replaced it. He hated that look. "Probably not. I got a lot of shit to sort through up here," she said, tapping her temple with her finger. "He's already trying to adjust to life at a murder school. I won't burden him with more bullshit."

Simon stopped them outside her dorm, "Andi, everyone here has been through something. You don't end up in a 'murder school,' as you say, without being at least a little fucked up. Marcus wants to assassinate Ronald Reagan for Christ's sake."

"Yeah, but—," he cut her off.

"No 'buts', sometimes you are your own worst enemy when it comes to getting close to people. At some point, you have to realize shutting everyone out is doing you more harm than good." Without another word, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze before heading back to lunch.

* * *

After ditching her school blazer in her dorm and grabbing a blue sweater instead, Andi walked the short distance down the hall to Marcus' door. The new kid had the unfortunate luck of rooming with Shabnam, and Andi pitied him greatly.

She tapped her knuckles on the wooden door three times before it opened. The blonde smiled as she expected the Arguello boy to be on the other side. Earlier that day, after AP Black Arts, they agreed to meet at his room as everyone else was supposed to be at lunch. That assumption turned out to be wrong as his roommate stood in front of her.

Andi's smile was strained. "Hi, Shabnam."

"H-Hey Andi," he stuttered nervously before composing himself. He beamed at her, much more genuinely than her own smile had become. "What's up? What did you need?"

Looking past Shabnam, she saw Marcus standing in the room. She gestured toward the Nicaraguan boy, "I'm actually here to see Marcus." The blonde ignored how Shabnam's face fell at her comment.

He held the door open and Andi walked past him without another glance. "Ready to go?" she asked Marcus.

"Yeah," he said, grabbing his stuff.

"Ditch your uniform blazer and grab a different jacket," she told him, earning a confused look in return. "We're going out and I don't want to deal with questions like what private school we go to. Besides, the whole reason we're studying now is that you don't want to go to lunch, but you still have to eat. So, let's go."

"Wait, you're leaving? It's the middle of the school day," Shabnam interjected.

With her back to him as she faced Marcus, Andi dramatically rolled her eyes. Marcus restrained a smile at her reaction. "It's fine, right?" he directed toward Andi. "We both have Study Hall after lunch anyway."

"Exactly," the blonde agreed. "We'll be back before Study Hall is over. No worries Shab." She walked past him and into the hallway.

Marcus discarded his uniform jacket on his bed and grabbed the denim one hanging from his bedpost. "See ya later," he said to Shabnam, following the blonde. Neither of them noticed the forlorn look on his roommate's face as they left.

They made their way out of the school and to the road where Simon's car was parked. "Please tell me we are not stealing Simon's car."

"We are not stealing Simon's car," she reassured him. "We're borrowing it."

"You know, that's what a lot of people say when they steal something. Plus, you kind of have a track record of joyriding. That time when you were twelve, you told me about. When you took Saya's motorcycle to bring me back to King's. Who knows how many other cars you've jacked from innocent people."

Andi dangled the keys of Simon's Mustang in Marcus' face. "I have my own set of keys and I always make sure the gas tank is filled when I bring it back. It's our arrangement for when I _borrow_ it."

"He's not going to kill me if I help you steal his car, is he?" Marcus teased her as she walked to the driver's seat.

"We aren't stealing it!" she exclaimed, drawing the attention of some bystanders. Her cheeks flushed in annoyance as she saw Marcus's stupid—but cute—boyish grin. He just wanted to get her riled up and he succeeded.

Huffing in frustration, she got in the driver's seat and shot Marcus a small glare. "You better be nice to me. I'm helping you escape Hell Week for a couple of hours after all."

"Hell Week?"

"It's what I call the week the Rats get hazed. Has anything else happened since yesterday?" she asked as she began to drive them to her favorite diner away from the school.

Marcus sighed, "You mean aside from Viktor lighting Billy's jacket on fire during Poison Lab?" Andi pursed her lips as she remembered the instance from earlier. Denke would have disciplined Viktor if he had seen it. Brandy made sure he was distracted during the incident and it was all written off as an accident. "Well, a couple of Kuroki members dumbed garbage on Lex when he was taking a shit and some girls from Brandy's cheer squad attempted to put hair removal in Petra's shampoo. Luckily, she was able to smell something was up before she used it this morning. The surprise in our lunch yesterday has everyone a little on edge."

"Yeah, I can imagine. What about you? Has anyone tried to do anything to you?"

"Thankfully, no. But I doubt that will last much longer," he said. Andi glanced at him briefly before turning back to the road. They were only a few streets away from the diner.

"Maybe it's because they still think you're some psycho kid killer," she teased. The blonde was actually a little surprised when she saw the hint of a smile at the dark-humored joke.

"At least everyone believing I'm a mass murderer is good for something."

Andi let out a laugh, "That's the spirit."

A few minutes later, she pulled into the small parking lot. The two teenagers walked inside and sat at a booth in the back. The last thing they needed was someone overhearing what they were talking about. They ordered some food and ate as they reviewed some material for Poison Lab and AP Black Arts.

"You have Fundamentals of Psychopathy tomorrow with me, right?" she asked.

Marcus looked up from his burger. This time it was fresh, not from the trash, and he was savoring every bite as if someone would try to take it from him. "Uh, yeah. Right after lunch."

Andi shook her head, amused. "You're going to hate it."

"Why?" he asked. She was so sure of what his opinion was going to be.

"Oh, you'll see what I mean tomorrow," she answered, playing coy. "I don't want to spoil the surprise." She could see her comment made him nervous as he began to shift in his seat. It only served to make her more amused.

The conversation shifted back to work as Andi started to quiz him on the material they had gone over so far. Eventually, they both got tired of the talk of school and Andi decided it was time to address the elephant in the room.

"So there's something we need to talk about?" Andi started.

"Okay. What's up?" Marcus took a sip of his coke.

"Well, we need to talk about how we had sex." Marcus coughed, almost choking on his drink. She said it so bluntly and nonchalantly as if she was ripping off a Band-Aid.

"Yeah..."

Andi ignored his awkwardness. "And then yesterday in the combat room..." He nodded for her to go on. "I just think that this is kinda moving a little fast. We've only known each other for, like, a week. We should just get to know each other and be friends first."

Andi anxiously watched as Marcus nodded, agreeing with her. "O-Okay. If that's what you want, that's cool with me."

Andi felt a little relieved, but her overall anxiety about the conversation remained. She did a good job of hiding it. Physically, that is. Verbally, she was beginning to rant. "I mean, I like you. Like, I _really_ like you, but I don't think that I'm in a good place for anything more than 'friends' right now. I've never been in a relationship before and that's due to some of my many issues. I don't want to weigh you down with my bullshit baggage." She forced herself to close her mouth as she realized what she was saying. "That's assuming you even like me back of course... like that. And that you would even want to be in a relationship with me in the first place. I'm—I'm gonna shut up now."

Marcus could only stare at the beautiful blonde as she rambled. His eyes were wide. She appeared composed but she was not. She was displaying a rare instance of vulnerability, just like the night they were speaking about. Except for this time, she was not vulnerable in the sense that she was trusting him, but vulnerable in the sense that she was a little self-conscious.

Usually, the blonde exuded confidence, but now she was different. Andi was like any other teenage girl who was admitting to the guy that she was developing feelings for that she liked him. While she was hoping he felt the same, she was almost expecting a rejection. In a sick, self-sabotaging way, she almost _wanted_ a rejection. It would be easier if Marcus said he did not like her that way back and they could go on with life having just had a simple fling. Maybe if he rejected her, it would help her move on.

"I like you too, Andi," he told her with that boyish grin of his that made the butterflies in her stomach flutter. God, she felt like a naïve schoolgirl when he looked at her like that. Fuck whatever she had just thought; hearing him say he liked her back was awesome. "But, if you want to be just friends right now, I understand. You're right. This is all happening kind of fast."

"Okay, good," she said, matching his smile with one of her own.

His boyish smile turned into a smirk as he teased her to break some of the tension. "Does this mean no more making out during our tutoring session?"

Andi laughed and shook her head at him, "No. I think it's best that we keep it strictly professional from now on." Funny, she thought to herself. Wasn't that what she said to herself going into their last tutoring session?

"Damn," he said with a laugh.

The waitress came by and Andi paid the check. They walked back out to the car and began their drive back to King's for their last class of the day. She let Marcus pick a station on the radio, which proved to be easier said than done.

"Will you just pick one?" she groaned as he changed the song yet again. Finally, he settled on a station with some punk rock song she did not recognize. Saya was big into punk music, so Andi grew to know some of it, but she and Maria liked more of a variety.

Marcus sat back in the seat, satisfied with his selection and gave her a sarcastic smile.

"What song is this?" she asked.

"_Ever Fallen in Love_ by the Buzzcocks," he answered.

She glanced over at him, "I like it."

"I think I have it on a tape somewhere if you ever want to listen to it," he suggested.

Andi beamed at him. "Yeah, that'd be great. Maybe I can raid your music sometime. I don't have a lot. A lot of my collection was left back home when I came here for school."

"I don't have much either, just some of my favorites. But, you're more than welcome to check it out," he agreed.

They pulled onto the road the car was previously parked on but all the spaces were gone. Andi ended up having to park around the block. It would not have been an issue if San Francisco winters did not suck. A minute into their walk it started to rain.

"Shit," the two said as they ran past everyone to get back to the school. The two laughed as Marcus almost tripped over his own feet and Andi practically body slammed someone. She tried to apologize but the man only yelled at her in Chinese.

They got under the cover of the butcher shop and away from the rain. Catching her breath, Andi laughed, "I'm pretty sure that guy called me a clumsy bitch in Chinese."

"You speak Chinese?" he asked incredulously although thoroughly amused.

Andi nodded, "Yeah, a little. I also speak Spanish, French, and German. I know some Russian, but I came to King's before I could finish learning. My mom was very particular about my studies."

Her tone reflected her mood at the mention of her mother, bitter and sharp. She was glad when Marcus did not question her further.

They chatted idly as they returned to the dorms to dry off and get back in their uniforms. The dorms were bustling as some students wrapped up their studies a little earlier than others did. Saying goodbye to Marcus at his room, Andi barely caught the phone at the end of the hall ringing. The blonde was about to enter the room when someone called her name.

"Andi. The phone is for you," one of Viktor's cronies told her.

That surprised her. She never got phone calls. Her mother never bothered to check in on her and that was the only person she would suspect.

Hesitantly, she took the phone from the jock. "Hello," she said.

"Hello, Andrea. Did you miss me? Because I missed you," the sarcastic, teasing tone said.

Her blood ran cold and she froze in place. That familiar tight feeling engulfed her chest and she felt as if she could not breathe. Her chest ached and her brain screamed at her to do something, anything. She could feel tears well up in her eyes, but she could not quite pinpoint what she was feeling. Was it fear? Was it sadness? Was it anger? All of the above?

"Andi," he said in a singsong tone. "You still there?"

Andi gulped, saliva wetting her mouth that had gone dry. She opened her mouth to speak and hoped that her voice sounded neutral.

"Hello, Abaddon."

* * *

**There you go. A completely original chapter.**

**I don't know when exactly the next update will be, could be in 2 days, could be in a week. I have a bunch over overtime at work this week and a school assignment that I've been procrastinating for the past two weeks that is due on Sunday and I still have to do all my reading and research for it. But, hey, I work best under pressure.**

**Originally, I was going to have her and Maria have some bonding time in this chapter, but it will be in the next chapter. This chapter got to over 3K words and I knew that if I tried to write more it would take longer to publish and I wanted to get something out.**

**Next chapter we'll also finally get some backstory and info about what happened between Andi and Abaddon in the past that is connected with her enrollment at King's Dominion. It'll also give you guys some information on her trust issues.**

**Let me know what you think! Don't forget to comment and vote!**


	17. chapter seventeen

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

**[**blast from the past**]**

**"whenever you're ready"**

* * *

**Four Years Earlier – Somewhere in Oklahoma**

_It was one of those rare occasions when Andi was left on her own. Her mother, Lorraine, was away again on another assignment, and Delphine, her tutor and her mother's girlfriend, was shopping in town._

_These instances of complete freedom always caught the young blonde off guard. What was she even supposed to do with the time? Her life seemed very sad during moments like these. It was not as if she had friends to sneak out with._

_Well, technically, that was not true._

_Her mother never allowed her to grow attached to anyone. Attachments were distractions that could get you killed, she would tell Andi. The young girl soured at the thought. Apparently, only her mother was allowed to decide what attachments were dangerous or not, seeing as she formed a pretty significant one with Delphine._

_Hypocrite._

_Although, a few months prior to her turning twelve, when Delphine had taken the Broughton girl into town with her, Andi may have made her first friend. Usually, she hated going to town with the older woman. The kids her age recognized her because she was different. She did not attend school with them. She did not interact with them. She was a hermit by the age of twelve._

_Those quick to conform to social norms did not easily accept difference._

_Andi walked behind Delphine with her head down, pushing the cart through the market. The blonde could hear the whispers of gossip. They did not necessarily bother her. Why would they? She did not know these people. They were not her friends._

_The only acceptance she ever yearned for was her mother's. That was the most twisted part about their whole relationship. The preteen was so full of resentment toward the woman who gave her life, yet at the same time, all she wanted was some praise, some attention, anything. God, she sounded needy._

_However, everything changed that one day in town when she met Erik Schilling._

_Erik was different too. He did not care about the whispers when he ran into the younger girl while Delphine was in the bathroom. He did not spare a glance at the wandering eyes of the public during their conversation. It never even occurred to Andi that he was also out of place._

_She would be lying if she denied the skip in her heartbeat as she spoke with the charming fourteen-year-old. It was the first time she ever had a real conversation with someone her age where they were not referring to her as a freak at some point._

_When Delphine had come back from the bathroom, Andi asked if she could get ice cream with Erik. The French woman knew that Lorraine would be livid if she allowed Andi to go, but Delphine knew the importance of being socialized at such a young age and she did not want to deprive Andi of normalcy any longer. Giving in, she allowed the two to go to the ice cream shop down the street as she finished her errands._

_Andi had been ecstatic. Erik was her first real friend. Although the time seemed to pass too quickly, Erik gave Andi his phone number in case she ever wanted to hang out again. She had wanted to give him hers back but knew that if her mother found out, she was done for. He did not push it though, and they went their separate ways._

_They had managed to see each other a few times since meeting eight months ago. Their friendship had grown quickly and something about the boy managed to spark a rebellious streak in the girl. A month after her twelfth birthday, after an argument with her mother, the charismatic boy talked her into taking her mother's car for a joyride. Lorraine had been furious._

_Andi had taken to sneaking out with her friend for late night bike rides and talks, never overly worried for her safety with her training. She might not have been at an assassin level like her mother, but she could certainly handle the average creep._

_It was rare though that she would be able to spend time with him during the day, and now she could._

_She rang him on the phone and invited him over. Not for a second did it seem odd that it was the middle of the day on a Thursday, and any other normal kid would be in school. She did not fit into that category, so it had not even occurred to her in her excited state that it was out of the ordinary. The blonde was blinded by her loneliness._

_About twenty minutes had passed when Erik knocked at her front door. Andi immediately ran to answer it and invite her new friend inside._

_He quickly started a conversation, not missing a beat. Erik had never seen the inside of her house before. "Organic Chemistry," he commented, seeing her textbook out on the coffee table in the study._

"_Oh, yeah," she added awkwardly._

"_A little advanced, isn't it? You must be pretty smart," he smiled._

_Andi shrugged, trying to keep the blush from her face. "Well, when you're a homeschooled freak with no friends, you get a lot of reading done," she joked in a self-deprecating way._

_Erik frowned. "I don't think you're a freak. Being different isn't necessarily a bad thing. Albert Einstein wasn't your average Joe, and look at all he had to offer the world."_

"_I'm definitely no Albert Einstein," she said, waving him off and not knowing how to take a compliment._

"_No, you're way prettier," he corrected. Andi was unable to keep the blush off her cheeks this time._

_Erik perused the room some more, taking in the space. Suddenly, it occurred to Andi though that if her Chemistry textbook was out then so were the books for some of her more abnormal subjects. Her eyes darted to the desk that Erik had not reached yet. Her _Anarchist Cookbook _sat out in plain sight._

_Andi moved to the desk as quickly as possible, without drawing too much attention, and slipped the book into one of the desk drawers. The blonde did the same when she saw her book on poisons sitting out on one of the end tables, pushing it out of sight as nonchalantly as possible._

"_Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?" Erik asked, his fingers brushing a text on the bookshelf. For a minute, Andi's heart leaped, thinking about what else could be on the shelf, but remember that most of the incriminating books were left in her mother's office. "You have some weird books here Andi," he said with a laugh._

_Andi let out a nervous laugh too. "Yeah, my mom has a wide range of interests. She travels a lot for work… she's a writer… so, she picks up a lot of hobbies along the way."_

_Erik simply nodded at her explanation before the topics moved elsewhere. Almost three hours had passed when Andi realized the time. The sun was starting to set and Delphine still was not home yet. She was usually home well before dark._

_Anxiety rippled through Andi as she tried to quell it. Just wanting to cover her own ass for when her guardian inevitably arrived home, which would probably be any moment; she figured it was time to send Erik on his way._

"_Wow, it's already almost seven o'clock. Delphine will probably be back any minute and she's not gonna be happy if she sees you here. I mean, she's fine with us hanging out sometimes, but she still draws a line when it comes to asking permission, so…" the blonde trailed off._

_Erik stood up and gave her a crooked smile. "No problem. Call whenever you want—," before he could finish his thought, the phone in the kitchen rang._

_Erik did not seem bothered by the interruption, but Andi was a little startled._

_No one ever called the house. The phone was practically just a decoration on the wall. The only people who called were her mom and Delphine._

_Trying to quell her nerves, Andi assumed it was her guardian just calling to say she was running a little late. She did not know where all this anxiety was coming from, but she was starting to get a bad feeling._

"_Hello," she answered the phone simply, not giving out any information about herself._

"_Andi?" a frantic voice sounded from the other end of the line._

"_Mom?" the young girl questioned. It sounded like her mother, but on the other hand, the girl was not sure if she had ever heard anything close to panic in the older woman's voice. "What's wrong?"_

"_I'm compromised. You have to get out of the house. They know where you are. They sent someone to take you. You know where to go. Leave now!" The line went dead on the other end._

_Andi could immediately feel the adrenaline enter her bloodstream as her heart pounded at a million beats per minute. She hung the phone up and left to go back to Erik. If Ouroboros was coming for her, then she needed to get him out of there as quickly as possible._

"_Hey, that was Delphine," Andi started, steeling herself to appear as if everything was fine and she had not just gotten a frightening call from her mom. "She's on her way home, just had some car trouble that caused her to run a little late."_

_She entered the room to see Erik sitting at the desk, flipping through the _AnarchistCookbook_ she had stashed there earlier. He did not appear shocked at the presence of such a book, nor did he seem bothered by the content._

_Andi's heart stopped. "That wasn't Delphine on the phone, Andi," Erik said, closing the book with an almost serene smile._

_She gulped nervously, her body tensed. There was no use to keep up the charade that everything was fine. "And how do you know that?"_

"_Because she's dead."_

_As the words left his mouth, Andi wanted to do nothing but scream. She wanted to deny it, to scream at this _stranger_ in front of her and let the tears fall freely, but she could not. There was no time for emotion in a situation like this._

"_You see, Andrea. I killed her, earlier today on my way over here. Don't worry. I was perfectly humane. A single rifle round right between the eyes. Painless." He talked about it as if he did not just end someone's life. He spoke as if speaking about some menial story from the morning news._

_Standing from his seat, he began to walk towards her, but her feet shuffled backward with every step he took. "You're with Ouroboros," she stated._

"_Very good. I knew you were smart. They always ask 'Why?' in situations like this, but not you. All that time on the outside looking in made you observant, able to piece the puzzle together quickly." Andi's lip curled in disgust._

"_What are you going to do now? You're not here to kill me, or you never would have waited this long. Eight months is a pretty long time to fake being friends with someone just to kill them."_

"_Right again! Ouroboros has much more use for you alive rather than dead," he stated, stepping forward._

_Andi took another step back. "Fuck you!" she spat at him._

_Not wasting another second, the blonde darted for the kitchen and grabbed a filet knife from the drawer. Just as she turned around, she felt Erik's arms wrap around her from behind. She jabbed her elbow back several times, hitting him in the ribs until he loosened his grip. He tried to grab for her hair, but she swung her arm out, slicing into his upper arm with the razor sharp blade._

"_Damn," he said, touching the blood that leaked from the wound. "This was my favorite shirt."_

"_Sound like a poor wardrobe choice when you going to abduct someone," she snapped, lunging at him with the knife again._

_This time her efforts were futile. Erik's skill far surpassed her own. It seemed that her previous success at injuring him had only been because he underestimated her._

_Quickly disarming her, the older boy's arm wrapped around her throat, putting her into a chokehold. Her air supply was being cut off, her vision beginning to fade. "Time for a nap Andi. You've had a long day." She tried to struggle against him, but it was no use._

"_Fuck you, you psycho," she said, although it failed to be intimidating as she was losing consciousness. Her muscles went lax, and her eyes drifted shut._

"_Actually, I prefer Abaddon," was the last thing she heard as her head lulled to the side._

* * *

"Hello, Abaddon."

"Well, you don't sound very happy to hear from me," his teasing tone spoke from the other end of the line.

Andi bit her lip, desperately trying to quell her emotions. No, she most definitely was not _happy_ to hear from the psycho that tormented her years ago. She was not _happy_ to hear from the guy she thought was her friend but really turned out to be just another dickhead. She was not _happy _to speak so casually with the monster that took away Delphine, one of the only people in the world to give a shit about her.

"Are you that surprised? What did you want me to say? That I miss you too because I assure you that is not the case."

She heard him making a tsking noise, "Andi, Andi, Andi. I just wanted to check in on my best friend. How's school going? I bet it's great. You finally get to be around people your age and mingle. Although, I mean it is King's Dominion, so they probably still aren't the most savory bunch. But, at least you're not a _freak_ anymore."

Hearing the word 'freak' was triggering to her, especially coming from him. Her grip on the phone tightened. It almost made her snap at him, but that was what he wanted. He was trying to elicit a response from her. She wanted to hang up, but it was the first time she heard from him in three years and a part of her needed to know what he had to say.

When she did not say anything, he continued. She could practically envision the smirk on his face. "What about that guy? What's his name? You always hang out with him… British accent… Simon! That's it!" Andi's breath hitched at the mention of the Londoner. It was one thing for him to know where she was at, she doubted that information was very difficult to get for Ouroboros, but the mention of Simon made one fact very clear for the blonde. They were watching her. Abaddon was watching her.

"He seems like a great guy. Sad though, that he's always pining after that Mexican chick, Maria. I mean when is she going to kill that abusive dick of a boyfriend and get with Simon. He is much more swoon-worthy." Andi shook with anxiety. She bit her lip to keep in a sob, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Is there a point to all of this?" she tried to ask him, but he ignored her and continued to speak over her question.

"Saya is a little brooding for my tastes, but her skills with that sword are admirable. It would almost be worth dying at her hands. She makes killing look like an art form. I'll admit. I might have a crush…" Just when she thought he might be done, dangling all his knowledge about her life in front of her, he pulled out his trump card. "But nothing like your crush. Oh, Marcus. I see why you like him. So tragic and mysterious. Your little date tonight at the diner was downright adorable. Although I must say, I think you're moving a little fast. Sleeping with him already. So quick to trust again after everything we've been through together. Did you learn nothing?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and ground out her next words through clenched teeth. "Your. Point?"

His teasing tone disappeared. He no longer sounded like a long-lost friend just trying to catch up. Instead, he answered back, emotionless, "Ouroboros is coming for you again. You escaped us once, and we let you go. Your time at King's has only made you more valuable to us. When we come for you, it will be best if you come willingly.

"You will never truly escape us. Should you try to, well, I think a clever girl like you can figure out the rest. Say hi to your _friends_ for me." The call ended and Andi immediately slammed the phone back onto the receiver.

Desperately trying to keep tears back until she made it to her room, and silently begging that Brandy had made herself scarce for the night, Andi was not even paying attention to where she was going or who was calling out to her.

A gentle hand rested on her shoulder causing the blonde girl to whip around, her paranoia getting the best of her. Her bloodshot, watery eyes met Maria's, the green irises filled with concern. Never had Maria seen such raw emotion from the blonde.

"Andi, what's wrong?" Maria asked, her accented voice soft and soothing.

The blonde could not bring herself to answer, afraid that she would burst into tears. The only thing she managed to say was, "I can't go shopping tonight," before hurrying past the girl to her dorm room.

Luckily, Brandy was somewhere else, although Andi did briefly note a spattering of blue paint around her desk. She did not give it much thought though as she broke down, finally letting the tears fall.

Andi hated crying. It made her feel stupid. Crying did not solve any of her problems. It was not going to bring Delphine back. It was not going to protect her friends. It was not going to rescue her from her position under Ouroboros' thumb. And it most certainly was not going to kill Abaddon.

Nevertheless, sometimes, she just needed to let it out. It might not solve her problems, but it was sure as hell cathartic.

She did not know how to process what Abaddon told her. She _could_ not process it. The memories and emotion she had successfully buried behind mental walls years ago were bursting out, the dam thoroughly destroyed.

It was not just her at stake anymore, but her friends had been dragged into this now because of her. She had turned into her mother. Delphine's association with the two of them had gotten her killed, and Andi would be damned if she let anyone else suffer the same fate.

The blonde did not know how long she had been crying when she heard a soft rap at the door. Aggressively wiping the tears from her eyes, trying to get rid of any evidence that her porcelain exterior had cracked wide open, she stood and started toward the door. Briefly, she caught a glimpse in the mirror at herself and cringed.

Mascara ran down her cheeks, her eyes red and puffy. Even her lips had chapped. She looked a wreck. Snatching a tissue from her nightstand, she rubbed at her cheeks to make the black streaks disappear. Once they were gone, she was left with red cheeks, a result of her attempt. Sighing, she called out, "Who is it?"

"Maria," the Latina answered from the other side. "I-I, uh, wanted to check on you."

Andi hesitated for a second before reluctantly opening the door and letting the other girl inside. The blonde plopped back down on her bed and Maria took a seat next to her.

Without another word, the Latina beauty wrapped her arms around Andi in a tight embrace. The comforting gesture made Andi want to burst into tears again, but her tear ducts were currently running on empty. The blonde returned the hug, squeezing Maria back with equal vigor.

Pulling back from the hug, Maria looked her straight in her puffy, sad eyes. "You don't have to tell me what's wrong. I mean, I want you to be able to tell me what's wrong, but I won't pressure you too. Just know that when you're ready to talk about it, I'm ready to listen. You're _mi hermana_. You've always been there for me, so I'll always be there for you."

A single tear fell from Andi's eye and rolled down her cheek before Maria swiped it away with her finger. "Thank you," she said pulling the girl in for another hug, enjoying the comfort. "I might not be ready to talk about it now, but later… I'll tell you everything. I promise." They pulled back again and the Latina girl nodded to her friend understandingly.

"Whenever you're ready," Maria assured her.

* * *

**PLEASE READ – INFO ON FUTURE UPDATES**

**WOW! I'M SO SORRY! I went on a bit of an update break because of midterms but then afterward, for like the first time in months, I had a social life and friends to hang out with… it was bizarre lol. On a brighter note though, I am getting my first tattoo on Saturday, which I am very excited about!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Again, I know I promised Maria and Andi bonding which we didn't get a whole lot of, but there was a little toward the end because I wanted to stress how comfortable the two are around each other. Marcus may have been the person Andi started to open up to, but when it comes to the heavy stuff, I always imagined her telling Simon or Maria first. Next chapter, expect some Simon and Scorpio Slasher for sure with the possibility of some Andi/Marcus cuteness and more Maria bonding. If those last two don't happen, they'll be in the following chapter.**

**You guys get part one of two of Andi's tragic backstory in this chapter. I'm not sure when I am going to introduce the second part though. It will pick up right after her abduction when I do write it.**

**Lastly, I think I am going to try to set up an updating schedule for this story and my other stories. Since this is my most popular story right now, I want to update twice a week. One day will be on Sunday, so whatever other day I update this week, probably Thursday, will be the other day to expect regular updates on.**

**I will probably post the schedule on my profile for any of you who follow my other stories.**

**DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT AND VOTE! THEY HELP MOTIVATE ME TO GET OFF MY LAZY, PROCRASTINATING ASS AND WRITE! LOL**


	18. chapter eighteen

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

**[**deadly muse**]**

**"i don't have to ask what you resent. i already know"**

* * *

The next day Andi felt numb, not quite sure how to process the phone call from the night before. Her only consolation was that she was not crying anymore, thank God.

Simon was in the dark still. She wanted to tell him what happened but she was hesitant. Shutting him out was not fair, but if she could barely admit to herself that the phone call happened, how was she supposed to talk about it with someone else.

Not to mention Abaddon's words haunted her. _So quick to trust... Did you learn nothing?_

Maria tried to help her feel better, to keep her spirits up. The two of them rescheduled dress shopping for that night. It was the Latina's effort in getting Andi's mind off whatever caused her breakdown. The Mexican girl was also still in the dark.

Andi hoped that classes would also take her mind off everything. However, when she remembered she had Fundamentals of Psychopathy, the blonde doubted that would happen. It's not that she did not like the class, because she did. It gave her an inside look into how psychopaths' minds operated, a skill she would need if she were to go after Abaddon, a bonafide psycho.

However, being reminded of a certain psycho was what she was trying to avoid, at least for twenty-four hours.

Andi sat in her seat next to Simon, silent as she fiddled with the ends of her ponytail that draped over her shoulder. She did not look up when Marcus sat across the aisle from her, even when he greeted her.

The lack of response must have confused him, sure. Especially after their chummy evening at the diner. Andi remained unfazed though, staring straight ahead and waiting for their teacher to be wheeled in.

"Where's the teacher?" she heard Marcus ask Jaden from beside her.

"Find a thousand dicks and suck 'em," the Hessian snapped back.

Marcus recoiled, "So many?"

Andi could not help the slight quirk of her lips at the response. Marcus' quick wit amused her just as often as it got him in trouble, which was often. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw that he had turned towards her with a crooked smile. Obviously, he had seen her reaction to his comments. The blonde rolled her eyes, shaking her head at him.

Just then, the side doors opened and the Scorpio Slasher was pushed in on his wheelchair. It was not as if the man could not walk, it was that he had to be strapped down.

Everyone in the room straightened hastily, aside from Marcus who did not know any better, and Andi who did not care.

"Welcome to the Fundamentals of Psychopathy," the Scorpio Slasher greeted without any emotion. He began to wheel himself down the aisle between desks before stopping next to Marcus. "Now, why would Lin enroll such a lowlife into his esteemed Atelier of the Deadly Arts?"

Marcus met the Slasher's eyes, challengingly. "You don't know my reputation."

"Well, reputations can be deceiving. Do you know mine?"

Shabnam raised his hand from the front row, causing Andi to scoff and start doodling nonsensically in her notebook. "Um—," the spectacled boy started. "You're keen on astrology, 41 victims, no bodies found."

Billy coughed from the back, "Cannibalism."

The Slasher quickly pivoted toward the green-haired boy, "I would never resort to such desperate theatrics." He began to address the rest of the class, "Today we will be studying the murderer's muse: resentments. No better fuel for the feast." Turning his attention back to Billy, he prompted, "List what you despise, please."

"Skaters who turn into rock stars," the boy joked. "Like Gator, he's great, but the dude thinks he's Prince."

Not happy with the response, The Slasher spat at him, hitting him on his uniform tie. Without another word, the psychopath continued on to Viktor.

"Capitalism," the Russian teen said, unsurprisingly.

"Yeah, that's hard to argue," the Slasher said moving on.

Lex was up next. "Thatcher."

"Snore," The Slasher said, before approaching Andi. "Andi."

The blonde turned toward The Slasher, expressionless. Although, this time there was a glimmer of amusement in The Slasher's eyes. "Still plotting my death?" he asked her.

Andi gave him a sarcastic smile, "Of course. Don't worry. It's one you'd be proud of."

"I don't even have to ask what you resent. I already know." A hint of a smile graced his lips as her smile dropped. "Have they contacted you yet? I'm sure you'll make a fine recruit. Just like Erik. Now he, he was a prodigy. It all started with him, and it will end with him. An infinite cycle. A snake eating its own tail."

Andi gulped nervously. She had always suspected that The Slasher knew something about Ouroboros. He always came across as someone who knew more than he was letting on, but she did not know if that was just his psycho-ness. His comments finally confirmed her suspicions.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her, especially Simon and Marcus'. The collection of stares caused her to pale. Attention never bothered her, necessarily. But, now, she felt like her secrets were being outed, that they could all see right through her, despite her better judgment reassuring her that was not the case.

Not paying her anymore mind, The Slasher turned back to Marcus again. "What about you, boy?" The Slasher asked. "What do you hate?" When Andi looked up, she caught Marcus' eyes over The Slasher's shoulder and he gave her a concerned look. He had never seen her so shaken before. He eyes flickered away from hers in an instant, moving to The Slasher with intense _resentment_.

Marcus' jaw clenched. "Bullies."

"Go on."

"Tiny-dick egotists who hurt people for no reason, make people lock their doors at night. People who make general existence worse, people like you," the Nicaraguan boy continued, not backing down in the face of the notorious serial killer. "Fucking hate people like you."

The Slasher went to move closer before the monk's cattle prod slammed on the desk between them. Their intense staring match ended, as they both glanced up at the monk.

The Slasher looked back to Marcus briefly, "Today's lesson was on resentments, and it looks like I got a new one." Marcus refused to look away. "I'm just trying to picture you without feet."

The Slasher wheeled back to the front of the classroom and Andi met Marcus' gaze again.

"You okay?" he mouthed to her.

Andi nodded. "Yeah," she mouthed back.

Little did she know that Simon sent Marcus an appreciative nod too, thankful that the other boy stood up to the psycho that upset her.

* * *

Andi stood behind the wall in Atypical Combat Skills as Saya, Maria, and Marcus attempted to take out Master Zane.

They were doomed from the started when Marcus' foot caught on the window, sending him straight into the ground and alerting Master Zane of their presence. Maria and Saya made a valiant effort but lacked the usage of their surrounding environment. They did not have their weapons, but that did not mean they could not improvise.

Marcus, though, lacked training with actual weapons. He had been improvising every day since he was a kid. As he wrestled on the ground with Master Zane, the Latino boy reached out and snagged the telephone from the table. He slammed the phone against their teacher's head, getting the larger man to back off a bit. Marcus did not stop there though, wrapping the phone cord around Zane's neck and pulling as tight as he could.

Andi was impressed at his resourcefulness.

Master Zane tapped out and Marcus released his hold on the cord. They all stood, Zane taking off his ridiculous wig. "Now, class, as you just witnessed, sometimes you gotta fight with bare hands like the guru of white karate, Chuck Norris, 'Firewalker.' Scoom! Skam! Wham-dam!"

The blonde covered her mouth with her hand to hold back the laughter. Master Zane was a unique guy. Not to say that was a bad thing, because it was not. He had an interesting teaching style and Andi enjoyed his more goofy nature compared to the seriousness of some of their other teachers. It was refreshing, and just what she needed after dealing with the Scorpio Slasher earlier.

"Other times," Master Zane continued with his lesson. "You gotta improvise."

"You are twice our size," Saya tried to reason as Maria nodded behind her.

"Size, schmize. When I was a bouncer at Chest of Drawers—aka 'Check for Sores'—on the Jersey Shore, every Italian from Seaside to Sicily tried to take a swing at ole Master Zane, and I knocked the Drakkar Noir right off 'em with nothing but a brick. Atypical combat skills save your keisters, meisters. Now, you two—," he said, gesturing to Saya and Maria. "You two are losers."

Maria crossed her arms in a huff as Saya ranted, pointing at Marcus, "Well, his swan dive kind of fucked up our entrance."

"Nothing ever happens according to plan. Uh, hobo kid here, he still nailed it with the skimmy-skam-shabaldam!" Saya looked at their teacher exasperated, Maria too.

Marcus, though, was beaming at the praise. Andi gave him a smile from her spot with the other students. For once, the kid was actually good at something, not getting shit on by the teachers and student body for being horrible.

When class was dismissed, Andi caught up with Marcus on their way back to the dorms. "Good job, dude!" she congratulated him.

"Thanks," he replied, smile still present. "You really helped me out this week. I couldn't have done that without you." Andi waved him off though, not letting him push his victory in class off on her. "I'm serious. The phone cord thing—I thought of it because of your AP Black Arts assignment. You're my deadly muse," he joked.

Andi rolled her eyes and bumped her shoulder against his, "Stop being cute." When her eyes met his, she felt an odd flutter in her stomach. Just friends, she reminded herself.

"You seem to be in better spirits," he commented as they entered the dormitory floor.

The blonde nodded, "Yeah, but only because you did so well. If you sucked then I'd still be a moody asshole today." She paused for a moment before continuing, "Thanks, by the way."

"For what?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"What you said to the Scorpio Slasher. I know you didn't, like, defend me or anything, and I definitely _don't_ need you to do that, but he caught me off guard. Usually, I don't care what he says but—Well, it was nice to see someone not feed into the fear and stand up to him for once."

"No problem. I hate bullies. You know that. And when they fuck with my friends, they'll get what's coming eventually."

Not sure what else to do, Andi reached up and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. She felt his arms snake around her waist in response, embracing her with equal enthusiasm. With her face nestled in the crook of his neck, she could detect the smell of cedarwood, a vast improvement from a couple of weeks ago. The smell comforted her and she was reluctant to pull back, but the hug was lasting too long for 'just friends.'

God, she was already hating this arrangement that she organized.

Pulling back, she played with the sleeves of her cardigan, while he nervously scratched his neck. "Well, I better go. I have to meet Maria. We're going shopping for the dance tomorrow."

Marcus teasingly rolled his eyes. "I still can't believe you're going to that."

Andi shrugged. "You're just jealous."

"Yeah, that's it," he drawled out sarcastically.

"I'll see ya around."

"Definitely."

* * *

Maria was waiting for her by Simon's car an hour later.

The two hurried to the mall as quickly as possible, hoping to get in as much shopping time as possible before the stores started to close. This was their last chance to find a suitable dress before the dance the next day.

They browsed the racks of one of the department stores, dresses piling up on their arms as they collected as many as they could carry to try on. They bantered back and forth, as they picked out suitable choices, even recommending ones for each other.

"So, you and Marcus seem pretty close," the Latina said.

Andi knew the topic was bound to come up. Maria was one of the people she was closest to at King's. It would be weird if they did not talk about Marcus eventually. Although, Andi did have to admit she was apprehensive about the topic.

On Marcus' first day, he and Maria almost kissed before the gathering at the Graveyard. And now, about two weeks later, Andi had slept with the guy and got butterflies around him like some cliché girl in a romantic comedy. It was a bit of an awkward subject to her.

"Uh, yeah. We've become closer recently."

"Mm-hmm," Maria agreed, her eyes narrowing as she began her interrogation. "Did you guys kiss yet?"

The question took Andi off guard, the blonde almost dropping the dresses slung over her arm. "Maria!"

"What? It's a valid question," the dark-haired girl shrugged nonchalantly. "No stop stalling and answer the question."

Andi sighed, "Yes." The brunette squealed.

"Really? When? How did it happen? Was he a good kisser? You've got to tell me!" she went on excitedly.

Andi laughed, "Whoa. Calm down."

"I'm sorry. Okay, okay. One question at a time. When did you guys kiss? Go."

The blonde smiled thinking about the night. "At Shabnam's party."

Maria huffed, "So long ago and you didn't tell me! Aye, of course it was at the one party I didn't go to." Andi did not comment on the fact that Maria should have just blown Chico off that night to come with them. "Next question, how did it happen?"

"Well, we were both pissed off at Lex for being a dick and I pulled him into the bathroom so he wouldn't start a fight and... it just kind of happened. I don't know."

"Was he a good kisser?"

Andi bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Oh yeah," she said, before muttering, "He was good at a lot of things."

Maria's jaw dropped. "I heard that. Don't hold out on me now, _chica_. Tell me more."

Andi laughed nervously. "Well, later that night, Marcus found me in one of the upstairs bedrooms, upset, and we got to talking..." When she paused, Maria gestured for her to continue. "And then we had sex." It was a vague answer, but it seemed to satisfy Maria's curiosity.

The Mexican beauty lit up at the revelation, but it was short-lived. "Wait, wait. This isn't like with Juan and Viktor, is it?"

"No, no. Uh, I don't know if anything is going to happen though. You know how I am, and I felt like we were going kind of fast so we're just going to get to know each other as friends."

"Oh." The brunette girl tried not to look disappointed. A real relationship would be a huge stepping-stone for Andi dealing with her trust issues. Maria understood her reluctance and wanting to take it slow but she hoped that she would not keep holding herself back from being happy.

Maria quickly covered her disappointment with a bright smile. "Well, like I said yesterday, I'm always here for you and will support you in whatever you decide to do."

Andi smiled back at her friend. "I would hug you right now, but my hands are kind of full," she laughed.

The Latina joined her, "Then let's go try these on and make a decision. My arms are getting tired anyway."

* * *

**Bit of an awkward ending, I think. This chapter follows the show a lot but there will be more original content next chapter. The rest of the shopping scene will also continue in the next chapter. There will also be some interaction between Simon and Marcus, which I hope you will all enjoy.**

**Sorry, I'm like a day and a half late. Yesterday I think I ate something that didn't agree with me and was laid up in bed all day. I ended up falling asleep at like 8 pm and woke up at 1 am and then I couldn't fall back asleep. My sleep schedule is so messed up and I didn't wake up until after noon, to which I remembered I had a bunch of errands to run because tomorrow I'm getting my tattoo and hanging out with my friend on out only shared day off. That's why this is posted so late today, because of my fucked up sleep schedule.**

**So sorry again. I will honestly tell you if I'm being lazy, and that was not the case this time I swear. I still plan to get the next chapter up sometime late Sunday night/early Monday morning while I'm at work.**

**ENJOY! VOTE AND COMMENT TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! :)**


	19. chapter nineteen

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

**[**heartfelt**]**

**"you might not be such a bad guy, arguello"**

* * *

Andi and Maria were still at the mall, trying on the abundance of dresses they collected. The dressing rooms were empty aside from them, so the two girls were having fun creating their own fashion show. Maria exited her fitting room in a medium length, crimson dress. The neckline was deep, showing off a decent amount of cleavage and the black bow, cinched at her waistline, drew attention to her figure. As soon as the Latina stepped in front of the mirror and did a little twirl, Andi knew it was the one.

"If you don't get that dress, I'm going to smack you," Andi told her. "You look hot!"

"You think?" Maria asked with a smile.

"Definitely. It's so you and I love how it flairs out when you spin. Plus, it'll look perfect with your signature red lipstick."

"Uh, you're right. Now, you have to go try on that light blue one I picked out for you. Go, go," the brunette said, shooing the blonde back into her changing room.

Andi went back in and pulled on the dress Maria was referring to. It was a little shorter than the crimson dress Maria was wearing but still tasteful. It was such a light blue that it could almost be mistaken as white. Halter straps wrapped around her neck and the sweetheart neckline accentuated her bust. It tapered off at her waist before billowing out with tulle.

She exited the room. "What do you think?" she asked her friend.

Maria let out a small squeal, "That's the one! I told you it would be and you doubted me."

Andi did. The blonde was not sure how she felt about the tulle but after seeing the dress on her, she changed her mind. It made the girl look so innocent, like an angel, which she was anything but.

"I know. But, I have to say, I love it. I think I'm going to get it."

Maria gave her a sly look. "You know who else would love it... Marcus."

Andi waved her off, reentering the changing room to change back into her own clothes. She could hear the door shut next to her, telling her that Maria was doing the same.

The blonde hoped Maria would drop the subject but that was not the case. It was not that she disliked the topic, she just did not want to continue talking about her and Marcus like they were dating when they were not. Sure, she liked him like that, but it was far from what she felt she was ready for.

"I'm honestly surprised you didn't just say screw you to the 'Legacies Only' thing and bring him to the dance with you," Maria continued. "I mean, that's what Viktor is doing with Petra."

Andi cringed at the thought. She had seen the Russian boy courting the goth girl during the past week after their hookup at Shabnam's party. He did a fantastic job as coming off innocent, but Andi was not buying it. A Legacy inviting a Rat to the _Legacy Dance_ was a bit fishy to her. A part of her wanted to accept it without being suspicious, for Petra's sake, but she could not bring herself to.

"And leave you and Saya," Andi said, faking shock at the thought, "On girl's night? I would never." Maria laughed in the next stall. "Besides I'm a little concerned about the Vik and Petra thing..."

"Oh, that's just Simon rubbing off on you," the Latina joked. "He always sees the worst in that 'damn commie,'" she continued, mocking Simon's accent, which sounded entirely ridiculous as her fake British accent mixed with her natural accent.

Andi laughed at the attempt nonetheless.

When they were finish changing, they hurried to buy the dresses. On their way to check out, they passed the electronics section of the department store, specifically the Walkmans.

It suddenly occurred to Andi that after their rendezvous in the bathroom at Shabnam's party, the blonde forgot to give Marcus his Walkman back. Feeling like an ass, the blonde quickly snagged one and carried it over to the register when they were checking out. It was the least she could do since she was the reason he lost his in the first place.

The two girls finished paying for their items and returned to the car to drive back to the academy. They were belting the lyrics to some pop song on the radio, which Maria insisted was them "practicing" their vocals for the dance.

"You know," the blonde started, glancing at the other girl from the corner of her eye. "Simon is still gonna be at the dance. I know I won't mind, and Saya won't either if you ditch us for a bit to spend time with him while Chico isn't hovering over you like a fucking helicopter."

Maria gave a wistful smile before it faded. "That would be great. But, even though Chico is not coming that doesn't mean the rest of the Soto Vatos won't be there. They'll definitely report anything back to him."

The blonde hated that Chico had such a hold on Maria, such an effect on her life that even the mention of him was enough to bring her mood in a complete one-eighty. "If you ever decide to drop the fucker, whether that means just breaking off your relationship or something more, know that I'm with you, all the way. I'm not afraid of the cartel."

It may seem naïve of her. It may seem foolish, but she really was not afraid of the cartel. What she was afraid of was a lot worse. Ouroboros was a lot worse.

Maria gave her a strange look at the comment, confused about how someone could be so brave in the face of some of the most dangerous people in the world. Instead of voicing her concerns though, she tried to make light of the situation.

"That sounds an awful lot like me trusting you and you doing the same in return," the brunette joked.

Andi was silent for a minute as she parked Simon's car along the sidewalk. Because of what happened between her and Abaddon, she had never allowed herself to trust people again. Her mother had always ingrained in her that trust was dangerous, and Abaddon had only cemented that fact for years. But, the biggest way to show that sick fuck that he did not control her life would be to deny any influence he had over her, to trust people. _Did you learn nothing?_ That was what he said to her on the phone. And she had learned a lot from their relationship and other relationships she had formed since then.

Not everyone was Abaddon.

Not everyone was a psychopath. Not everyone was waiting for the next opportunity to victimize someone. There were good people out there. She accepted Maria, Saya, and Simon into her life a long time ago. They were her friends and to be friends there was a certain amount of trust involved.

The truth was she trusted Maria, Saya, and Simon, and she had for a long time now.

"That's because I do," Andi said, taking Maria off-guard. "I do trust you."

The Latina was shocked that Andi was admitting it aloud. That she was capable of trusting people. The girl was closed off from the start, only ever letting people, even her friends, know so much about who she was before King's Dominion.

"And trust is a two-way street. I've been holding a lot in since I got to King's, like a dam in my mind. I had locked it all away and thrown away the key. Yesterday, when you saw me, I was breaking, literally. Everything I spent the last few years pushing away suddenly came rushing back."

Maria listened intently to everything Andi was telling her. "What happened, Andi?"

"I got a call from someone who made my life a literal hell. He goes by Abaddon, but I knew him as Erik."

* * *

Simon was on the move. He had been wanting to speak with Marcus since earlier that day. The two were well overdue for a conversation.

The Londoner tracked the Rat to his and Shabnam's shared room. He did not bother to knock, simply walking into the dorm room. Shabnam was at the computer while Marcus was scribbling away in that notebook of his. Simon never knew what he was so engrossed in all the time, but he was not overly interested in finding out.

When the tall Prep barged into their room, the spectacled boy jumped and met his eyes. "Out," Simon ordered him sternly. Shabnam furrowed his eyebrows.

"But this is my ro—," he tried to argue, but Simon cut him off.

"Out!" Simon said sternly, louder than the last time. Shabnam grumbled and grabbed a few things before vacating the room.

Marcus looked up at the British teen anxiously. When Simon saw the look Marcus was giving him, he rolled his eyes. "Relax, Marcus. I'm not going to maim you or anything. I just want to talk." The Nicaraguan boy set his notebook aside and sat up. Simon took Shabnam's chair from the desk, straddling it to face Marcus.

"Okay..." Marcus answered hesitantly. He was not the biggest fan of Simon, and their last conversation was not great. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Andi was really distant earlier, but Saya said that they two of you were talking after Atypical Combat today. She hasn't said anything to me and I'm worried about her. I was wondering if she mentioned anything to you. You don't have to tell me anything specific if she did. I just want to make sure she's alright."

Simon's sincerity was evident in his words, stunning Marcus. If the teen had one redeeming trait, it was how much he cared for his friends, specifically Andi. "Uh, no, she didn't say much of anything. I don't know why she was upset today, but if it makes you feel any better, she was in a better mood after Atypical Combat than she was in Fundamentals of Psychopathy."

The Arguello boy was a little concerned that even Simon had not known what was going on with Andi today. Marcus knew Simon was Andi's closest friend. When the girl had been distant earlier—which admittedly, she was—Marcus assumed Simon had some idea why. His assumption had been wrong though.

"Maybe she was just having a bad day," the Latino boy tried to reason. "Everyone is allowed to have a bad day."

Simon was not convinced though. "Yeah, maybe..."

There was an awkward lull in the conversation before Simon snapped out of his thoughts that were going a hundred miles per hour. "Thanks for what you did in Psychopathy today too. Andi and The Slasher usually have this back and forth routine where they harass each other for a bit, but I can tell what he said really bothered her this time."

"What was that about? A snake eating its own tail? I didn't understand any of that," Marcus wondered.

Simon was in the dark on that too. "I have no idea. It was bizarre. Andi definitely understood it though. I wish she would tell me so I can help her, but... Anyway, thanks again."

"It wasn't a big deal."

"No, it was," the taller teen insisted. "The Slasher might have finished his piece with Andi by the time you two went at it, but you standing up to him was kind of awesome... and stupid, but mostly awesome. The whole class would've been talking about him and Andi but then you told him off right there." Marcus was unsure how to take the compliment. "It's about time someone told these assholes around here to fuck off."

Marcus narrowed his eyes, "Aren't you one of those 'assholes?'"

The Arguello boy was surprised when Simon let out a loud laugh. "Yeah, but I'm the lovable kind."

"Keep telling yourself that," Marcus joked.

"You might not be such a bad guy, Arguello."

* * *

Maria embraced Andi in a tight hug as they said their goodbyes. The Latina had been very understanding as Andi vented to her everything that had happened and what was currently happening. It felt good to finally let it all out.

But, Andi was not done for the night.

After talking to Maria about it, the blonde knew that she wanted to let Simon know too. He had been there for her since the very first day. He never pushed her for more information. He protected her, despite her lone wolf status. He defended her to the other gangs, even though Kendall always wanted to overthrow him as leader of the Preps and kick him out for spending so much time with her instead of them. He was her rock.

If she was to get through all of this, she needed him by her side like he always was.

So, after saying goodbye to Maria, she made her way to the London teen's dorm, hoping that he was the only one inside.

She knocked and waited for him to answer. A few seconds passed and the door opened with the familiar, tall boy standing on the other side. "Hey, Andi. What's up?"

"Are you alone?"

"Uh, yeah, why?"

The blonde sighed, "We've been friends since my first day here, but I've never been entirely open with you. You were always okay with that, waiting until I was ready to talk to you, but now I think I am ready to tell you what's been bothering me. Can I come in?"

Simon nodded. "Of course. I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me."

"I am too."

* * *

**So, this chapter is a bit shorter, and a little boring in my opinion. But, it has a very important element in Andi finally deciding to open up about her past and the phone call with Abaddon. For so long she was struggling with her trust issues, but despite believing that she wasn't trusting people, she was.**

**I kind of drew on this from some of my own trust issues. I haven't gone through anything nearly as traumatizing as Andi, but I did have something happen between myself and all my friends when I was very young that left me with no friends and soured me when making future friends. Even though I got along with them very well, there was always something that kept me from completely trusting them. I was kind of just waiting for them to decide they didn't want to be friends with me anymore. But as time went on, I realized that I was attached to them despite not wanting to be and that if they weren't my friends anymore I would be really upset. So that is my inspiration behind Andi's thoughts and actions. They are purposefully kind of confusing because human thoughts and actions do not necessarily have to make sense, especially for someone as emotionally conflicted as Andi.**

**Anyway, that is why I ultimately had Andi tell Maria and Simon, the two people she is closest to, what is actually going on.**

**I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think and don't forget to vote!**


	20. chapter twenty

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

**[**party hardy**]**

**"think of how many liquor stores we have ruined for ourselves"**

* * *

"They can think what they want," Saya said as the group of girls walked down the sidewalk. The three of them, Andi, Saya, and Maria, had decided to make the most of their girls' night and hit the liquor store before going to the dance. "I know they all call me a bitch."

Andi laughed. "That's because you are a bitch." Saya shot her a joking glare. Andi raised her hands in mock surrender, "Not that it's a bad thing."

"Yeah," Maria agreed. "You should be proud of that."

Saya huffed. "People who proudly self-apply labels like 'asshole' or 'bitch' as if it's a sign of their own strength are just ugly people looking for an excuse to lean into their unpleasant nature."

Andi gasped. "I feel attacked right now. Maybe I just call myself a bitch because I know it's true, so why deny who I really am. Same with Simon. I don't think that asshole will change for anyone," the blonde joked. Saya and Maria laughed.

"Well, they all think I'm crazy," Maria added.

Saya turned to her, "They're gonna think what they want. Nothing you can do about it."

"I don't care what they say," Maria amended. "I just wish it wasn't true."

Saya and Andi both stopped in their tracks. "You're _not_ crazy," they both insisted.

Maria gulped, a vague gleam in her eye as she pushed away the melancholy. "I just want to be normal."

"Fuck that," Saya said, making Andi smile. "Normal's death."

"Highly overrated," Andi agreed, although something in the back of her mind gnawed at her, reminding her that she wanted to be normal too. She _had_ been normal and sometimes she wished she could have that back, but now she knew she never would.

Maria smiled, "But what's more normal than bragging about how normal you are?" The other girls laughed. "Maybe we shit on what we can't have."

We do, Andi thought as Maria stopped in front of a house with its holiday lights already up and partially decorated. "Me, in my heart, I would love to own a house like this," the Latina continued. "Filled with books, niños running around, music in the air."

"Enjoy that bullshit," Saya said, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm gonna party forever and rule the world."

Andi laughed as Maria gave her an "Oh, really" look. "But I would like to come and visit," the Kuroki girl backtracked.

Maria smiled and looped her arms through Andi and Saya's. "Auntie Saya, party queen of the world."

"Mm-hmm."

"You are."

"I am! You're right, I am."

Maria looked to Andi, "And what about Auntie Andi?"

"Well, I can't let Saya have all the fun! Obviously I'll be tagging along," Andi said.

Saya smiled at her, "I'm sure I can find a place for you in my court of partiers."

The girls continued to laugh and joke around as they got to the liquor store. The bell over the door jingled as Maria entered first. They started through the aisles, browsing the array of alcohol. Andi quickly plucked a bottle of whiskey from the shelf, while Saya and Maria picked what they wanted.

Saya handed Maria her bottle of strawberry wine, "Why don't you find out if this goes with fish?"

Maria smirked and walked around to the counter while Andi and Saya lurked by the door. "Excuse me sir, do you think this goes with salmon?"

The man behind the counter looked up from his magazine briefly. "Strawberry wine goes with drunk." Saya and Andi inched closer to the door. "How old are you sweetheart?"

Maria handed the man her fake I.D. The man scoffed, "If you're 25, I'm Christie Brinkley." Maria snatched the I.D. back and tucked it into her bra.

Saya reached the end of the aisle and bumped into a small bottle, knocking it to the floor. The shatter caused the man to look away from Maria. He cocked a revolver and pointed it at Saya and Andi who were only a couple feet away from the door.

"Lootin' the wrong establishment," the man said, still holding them at gunpoint. "Put it down now."

Andi kept a firm grip on her bottle as she shared an anxious look with Maria. Saya glanced down at the bottle in her hand. "Well, jeez, mister," she said, sounding as innocent as possible. "I-I brought this from home.

Within seconds, Maria grabbed for the man's outstretched arm that held the gun. His face contorted in pain and he did not notice the jar of pickled eggs Saya had kicked his way. The jar smashed into his face, shattering to pieces. Maria then smashed his head into the counter, effectively knocking him out cold.

Andi already had the door opened and they all took off down the road laughing. "Now we can never return to this store!" the blonde yelled through the laughter. "Think of how many liquor stores we have ruined for ourselves!"

* * *

By the time the three girls made it to the dance, they were sufficiently tipsy. That did not stop them from filling a flash full of some of Andi's whiskey and taking it with them though.

Maria was quick to pull them onto the dance floor where they were able to let loose among their peers for the first time in a while. They managed to have a good time, laughing and dancing, for at least an hour or so until it inevitably came to an end.

"Maria," a voice called out. The girls stopped dancing, their carefree expressions dropping as they saw Chico walk through the balloon arch. "I could've signed you up baby."

The Latina gave her friends an apologetic look before walking off. Saya and Andi shared a look, obviously pissed off at the asshole ruining their night, but in a way, it was expected.

Chico approached them as if nothing was wrong, dancing and smiling at them in mocking fashion.

"You couldn't give her one night away," Saya seethed at him.

"I just came to get my bailar on."

"You're a really piece of shit. You know, all she needs is—," Saya tried before he cut her off.

"You're gonna tell me what my girl needs, huh?"

Andi had enough. "Actually, yeah. We are. Since you obviously couldn't care any fucking less."

"She give you that story about wanting a normal life?" Chico goaded them. "The house with the books and little niños running around, eh? She's been telling that one for years. I taught her that. She's working you, both of you, so I can keep tabs." He reached out to touch Andi's face but she pulled back.

Andi scoffed, "Wow, you take me for a fucking idiot, don't you? You psychotic stalker. Nothing _you_ say will ever convince me that Maria is playing me. The only manipulative one here is you. Except you can't intimidate me or manipulate me, because I'm not scared of you. You're just a pussy bitch who lives in daddy's shadow. You play like you're the devil, but you're not even close. I've met worse. Fuck off. And if you try to touch me again, I'll cut off your hand and shove it up your ass." The blonde grabbed Saya's arm and pulled her away.

Maybe it was the recent encounter with Abaddon, maybe it was the copious amount of alcohol swirling in her veins, but she was absolutely through with Chico's bullshit.

"I'm gonna go get some air," Saya told her once they got farther away.

Andi gave her a concerned look. "Are you okay? What Chico said didn't bother you, did it?"

Saya shook her head. "No, no. The whiskey is just making me a little lightheaded, especially with Maria spinning me around. I'll be back soon."

"Okay," Andi answered as the Kuroki girl wandered into the hallway.

Andi tried to find Simon in the room, wanting to vent about what just happened, but when she could not find him, she followed Saya's lead and went to get some air. That was how she ended up on the roof, desperately pulling a cigarette from her bra.

"Whoa," she heard a voice say, making her look up from her lit cigarette.

Her eyes met Billy's as the green-haired boy took in her appearance. She was obviously still in her fairy-like blue dress, her arms and legs exposed to the cool November air. The blonde walked over to him and the rest of the boys who were in the process of setting off a box of fireworks, her heels clacking on the concrete.

At the clacking sound, she pulled the attention of Lex and Marcus.

"Bloody hell!" Lex exclaimed and Andi shot him a weird look. "You actually look hot."

"I always look hot," Andi quipped back, sneering at the Brit.

Finally, her eyes met Marcus' and she shot him a crooked smile. "Hey. Glad to see you guys found something to do."

Marcus snapped out of his haze, not having been able to tear his eyes away from her. Lex was right. She _did_ look hot. Even more so than usual, which was surprising because the Arguello boy did not think that was possible. "Oh, yeah. I see you've come to join us. What? Was the dance really as lame as I said it would be?"

"Oh, it was fun, until some prick decided to ruin girls' night," Andi grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and taking another puff from her smoke.

Before the conversation went any further, another presence entered the rooftop. Petra walked over to the group, a blonde wig placed haphazardly over her midnight hair, her black dress replaced with an obnoxiously bright, yellow one. She even had makeup trailing down her cheeks, a sure sign of tears shed.

"Oh, god. Are you okay?" Andi asked her.

"Jesus, what happened?" Marcus asked.

Petra tore the wig from her head and sniffled. "It's my own fault for being a charlatan, right?" She grabbed the joint that was left in the ashtray and brought it to her lips.

Billy scoffed. "Oh, so I'm the asshole somehow?"

Andi smacked his arm. "This isn't about you Billy," she whispered to him.

Marcus and Andi looked at the green-haired boy expectantly, waiting for him to change his tune. "We were just messing with you before," Billy said. "It's normal to want to be a part of the normal world, but it's easier when you accept that you don't belong in it."

The conversation reminded Andi of the one she had with Saya and Maria earlier.

"Stop," Petra told him. "I'm not gonna let them rent space in my head. Lesson learned."

Lex stepped forward and followed Petra to the ledge with Marcus. "You just needed a reminder of why we don't take part in that mess. You don't need them. They are awful. You're one of ours, love." Lex's sincerity actually touched Andi. It was nice to see the Brit actually care about something for once, not just brush it off.

"You always will be," Billy added from behind them.

Marcus was quiet for the exchange before he finally spoke up. "But you're right to be angry."

"Nothing to be done about it," Petra replied.

"Not by yourself."

Lex looked past Petra to Marcus. "I thought you were sitting on the sidelines."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I was picking my battles." Marcus paused. "There's no point in having friends if you're not going to stick up for them. Let's burn them down. Like a Roman-fucking-candle."

Andi smirked and put out her cigarette. "Sounds like a plan. You won't face any resistance from me."

"You're not gonna help?" Marcus asked, disappointed.

Andi shook her head. "Not with this one. I have to go check on my own friends. Good luck though. Make sure you get Brandy good."

Petra smiled mischievously. "Oh, that won't be a problem."

Andi left the Graveyard and met back up with Saya in the hall outside of the dance. The two shared a few swigs from the flask before Maria started toward them.

"What did he say?" she asked them innocently.

Saya and Andi shared a look. "Pretty much like you said," Saya answered.

"So, what do we do now?" the brunette asked again.

Saya smiled at her, "Let's go streak Golden Gate Park." The three of them immediately started laughing at the suggestion, but Saya was still serious. The Kuroki girl nodded at Maria, trying to get her to agree.

"I'm going to need the rest of that whiskey," the Latina agreed.

Saya laughed, "Okay." She took Maria's hand and started down the hall with her.

"You two are crazy. It's cold outside. I was just up on the roof and—," Andi started as Maria cut her off.

"Oh, you mean, up on the roof with your boyfriend Marcus?"

Andi shook her head, a light blush forming on the apples of her cheeks. "No," she dragged out. "I went out to smoke a cig after Chico stressed me out."

Maria looked to Saya to back her up. Saya sighed, "So, you went to the roof to smoke a cigarette where your boyfriend Marcus conveniently spends a lot of his time?

Andi scoffed and waved the two of them off with a laugh, "Fuck you guys. He's not my boyfriend."

"Yet," Maria teased.

Andi shoved the two of them towards the door playfully. "Get out of here. I'm gonna go find Simon. Have fun freezing your tits off."

"Bye!" they yelled, running from the building.

Andi turned to go back to the dance, a large grin stretched across her face. Screw anyone who thought they could get between her and her friends. They would have a hell of a time trying.

* * *

Simon stood off to the side of the room as more and more people started to leave the dance. Andi had joined him a few minutes earlier, having entered from the hall after Maria and Saya took off. They shared a friendly dance before retiring to the side. The two had been ready to call it a night when all hell broke loose.

Simon assumed that the cloaked figures that entered the room where just more of Lin's monks, coming to get everyone to head back to their dorms. However, when he saw the blowdart guns, he knew he had been wrong.

The first victim was Viktor, who collapsed to the floor after being hit, screaming about the Baba Yaga attacking him. Then the darts began to shoot out more quickly, hitting everyone else. People were screaming and running for the exits.

Simon tried to follow suit but stopped when he saw Andi laughing from her spot next to him, looking anything but worried.

"Did you have something to do with this?" he asked her.

The blonde simply batted her eyelashes at him and shrugged. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean," she answered, barely containing another laugh.

The fun came to an abrupt halt when the pair noticed Chico kneeling next to Juan, trying to get him to snap out of the Mellow Yellow induced hallucination. "Shit," Andi mumbled as she rushed to intercept Chico from getting to the hooded 'monk'.

Chico grabbed the 'monk', "Qué pasó, muchacho?" The taller boy ripped the blowdart gun out of the other guy's hand and shoved him backwards. When the hood fell from his head, he realized it was Marcus. Now Andi's protectiveness made sense.

Simon went to follow her but did not get to her before she got to Chico.

Andi grabbed Chico by the shoulder and he turned toward her. Before he could make a move, the small blonde landed a solid punch, hitting him in the jaw. Chico recoiled for a second but recovered quickly, shoving the girl to the ground.

"You need to learn to mind your own business puta," he spat at her, but before she could say anything back, Simon interfered.

"Fuck off, Chico," the Londoner stated, standing between the tall Latino and his best friend. Simon knew she could handle herself, but after he learned the specifics behind her admittance to King's, the brunet boy was quick to come to her defense.

"Simon, Simon. Hang around bitches too long and you turn into one yourself," he said as he shoved Simon back.

The Londoner almost tripped over Andi's legs as she scurried out of the way to stand. Simon held his ground though, taking a swing at Chico in return. Unfortunately, the Latino anticipated it, catching the incoming fist and twisting it.

Simon's face contorted in pain at the awkward angle and Chico sent a couple of jabs toward the other boy's stomach before slamming him to the ground next to Andi.

What Chico did not see coming was an enraged Willie coming toward him. Willie gave Chico a hard shove away from Marcus and the others, his large imposing figure towering over Chico's lean frame. "Step off."

Simon pulled himself to his feet and Marcus helped him get Andi to hers as well. The three of them stood next to Willie in support of each other.

"You want a taste, bitch?" Chico asked, getting in Willie's face.

"Bounce," Willie told the others.

Marcus glared at Chico, "And miss the disco?"

Chico removed his jacket. "It's been a while since the Soto Vatos cleaned the house."

"Yeah?" Willie egged him on.

"Throw in the Rat for free. Eh? Hágale, puto." Chico said, working himself up.

Master Lin entered the room, "Chico!" Their teacher's exclamation distracted the wrong person though. Willie turned toward the voice and Chico took his opportunity, backhanding him across the face. Immediately, Master Lin and the monks jumped into action, incapacitating Chico. "This dance is over. Everybody return to their rooms."

Simon, Andi, Marcus, and Willie did not need to be told twice.

* * *

**Sorry for the absence. I had a crazy workweek and I'm currently wrapping up my Master's Degree. Then I went on vacation so I had no time to write. My schedule should be more definitive after May 10****th****.**

**One more chapter and then I am finished with episode three! I'm very excited to move onto a new episode. I hope that it will reinvigorate some inspiration for this story. It's not so much as it's been lacking, as much as it is that I'm more inspired by some other fandoms at the moment. **

**Regardless, I hope you enjoy this even though there is a lot pulled from the show. More original conversations to come in the next chapter, I promise.**

**Vote and comment to let me know what you think please!**


	21. chapter twenty-one

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE**

**[**your people**]**

**"i see you"**

* * *

Simon and Marcus held joysticks in their hands as the small group gathered around the television in Marcus's room to play video games. Andi was sitting beside her best friend, Simon's suit jacket hanging loosely over her shoulders and protecting her from the chill of the room. Willie was next to Marcus, egging him on and playing backseat driver to the Latino boy as he attempted to beat the game.

It was a drastic shift from the tense argument with Chico less than an hour ago, which resulted in physical blows. Andi was enjoying the mundane teenage lifestyle for the moment, not letting herself dwell on what had happened.

"Come on, man. Guard your left. Your left!" Willie told Marcus. Andi glanced over and smiled at how into this game he was, and he was not even playing! Simon was silent and focused in comparison. Marcus simply laughed and did as Willie said.

"Hey," the Arguello boy started, addressing the other three. "What you did tonight, thanks for having my back."

Willie answered almost immediately, "I got to thinking on what you said earlier."

"Which part? I say so many smart things," Marcus replied with a smirk.

Andi rolled her eyes, "More like smartass things." Marcus's crooked smile stretched at her remark.

"About patriotism," Willie continued. "And it wasn't so smart."

"Mm, you must've misunderstood it," Marcus quipped.

Willie shook his head. "You said patriotism was about self-interest, but back in Watts, we had a different kind. The pride wasn't in the government, 'cause they never earned no loyalty from us. It's about community. It's about taking care of your people."

Marcus paused from playing and so did Simon, the group exchanging looks. Marcus looked down before meeting Willie's eyes. "You saying I'm your people?" he asked softly.

"Not if you can't guard your left. Come on, Arguello, carry your weight, man," Willie joked. Marcus smiled and Andi even saw the corner of Simon's lip lift as they turned their attention back to the television, but Marcus was not done yet.

"What about you, Simon? I know why Andi stepped in to help me, but why did you?"

Simon took a deep breath. "Listen, Chico has been a pain in mine and Andi's ass since long before you were a blip on Lin's radar. When Andi went for it, when she walked up to Chico and threw that punch, I knew I was all in. When it comes to my friends, I have their back no matter what. Period," the Londoner explained. "Besides, I meant what I said when I told you I didn't think you were such a bad guy. Would've been a complete dick move if I let Chico kill you just as I started to like you."

Andi laughed and smacked Simon's arm teasingly. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders affectionately and pulled her closer to make a mess of her neat, blonde curls. Swatting his hand away, she could not help the wide smile and laughter that escaped her. Simon continued with a genuine smile of his own, "Andi is my best friend. If you have her back, then I've got yours. Guess that means you're my people too."

Andi pulled back from Simon's embrace. Standing up, she straightened out her dress that she had not changed out of yet and looked to the three boys. "I'm all for the love going on here, but damn, I feel like I'm overdosing on it. It's beautiful, really though, but if you guys are gonna kiss, I'll give you some privacy," she teased.

"Oh, shut up," Simon said. "If anyone is snogging anyone, it's you and Marcus."

"Damn. There it is," Willie interjected.

Andi could not help the light pink that dusted on her cheeks as her eyes shifted briefly to Marcus's. He, too, looked a little embarrassed at being called out, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. Andi quickly brushed it off though, "I'm gonna get you back for that comment."

"Sure you are," Simon replied. The Londoner also stood though, as did the other two boys. "I actually think I am going to head out though. Getting punched a few times really takes it out of you."

"You poor baby," Andi tutted sarcastically. "I think I'm gonna head out too though."

"Same," Willie chimed in.

The group said their goodbyes and left Marcus' dorm room to head towards their own. Simon's was in another hall and so was Willie's. Andi handed Simon back his jacket and waved to them as they rounded the corner out of her sight. She approached her own door and crossed her fingers that Brandy was still held up in the infirmary from her Mellow Yellow terror.

The blonde opened the door and her hopes came true when she saw that everything was untouched from when she went out with Maria and Saya earlier. She kicked off her shoes and was about to unzip her dress when she spotted the shopping bag with that held Marcus' new Walkman. She meant to give it to him but it had completely slipped her mind.

She slid on a pair of slippers and grabbed the bag before leaving her room for Marcus'. She wanted to give it to him before she forgot.

Andi approached the Arguello boy's door and rapped her knuckles on it lightly, careful not to wake anyone else in the hall. Nor alert the monks, as it was past curfew, she realized.

Marcus opened the door a few seconds later. "Hey…" he greeted, obviously confused at why she was back. "Did you already miss me?"

The blonde gave him a wry smile, "You wish." Although, a voice in the back of her mind whispered that she had missed him and that this whole thing could have waited until the morning. "I actually have something for you. Can I come in before I get caught after curfew?"

"Sneaking around to see me? Must be important," Andi shook her head but ignored the teasing comment.

Once the door shut behind her, she held out the paper shopping bag that held his gift. Marcus looked inside and she watched as his eyes lit up. "Seriously? You didn't have to get me this," he tried but Andi cut him off.

She laughed, "Yeah, I did actually. I'm the one who snatched your old one at the party, and I'm the one who forgot it in the bathroom. I owed you a new one."

"Well, we were a little distracted, weren't we? Not that I'm complaining, because I'm definitely not," he replied with a crooked smile.

Andi smiled back at him, "Regardless of what we were doing, I wanted to apologize and give you this one. I know you didn't come here with much, and because of me, you lost one of the only things you brought with you. Besides, I wasn't sure what tape you had in it, so it's not a perfect replacement."

Marcus shook his head. "It was just a mixtape I made."

"Oh," Andi said, rubbing her arms sheepishly, sorely missing the protective layer of Simon's suit jacket.

"This is great though," Marcus reaffirmed. "Better than the last one." There was a bit of dead air between them for a moment when the Latino boy broke the silence. "You look beautiful tonight by the way. I can't remember if I told you that already." Andi smiled at him gently. "The fuzzy slippers really complete the outfit too."

Andi laughed.

As her laughter died down, she shook her head at him incredulously. "Why do you even like me?" she finally asked, genuinely curious.

"What?" he asked with a chuckle of his own, unsure if she was serious.

The blonde sobered up a bit, "Why do you like me? When I met you on the street, I played you. I pretended to be some random stranger when really I was practically stalking you to recruit you for a school for assassins. Then, I am such a bitch to you after you find out and practically tell you to throw yourself from the top of a building. Even after all that, I was still a complete ass. Why do you like me?"

Marcus was quiet for a moment before he stepped closer to her, his hands resting on her upper arms. "To be fair, you did think I killed everyone in my boys' home," he tried, attempting to lighten the mood, but Andi looked up at him expectantly. "Honestly though, after everything I've been through, you were the first real fucking person I had ever met. Yeah, you lied to me but since then, with me, you don't pretend to be someone you're not. You don't pretend to be some perfect version of yourself like you do with everyone else. I don't see some immaculate porcelain doll, I see the cracks and the rough edges. I see you."

Andi swallowed roughly, her throat burning as she held back tears. She was not sure if Marcus understood the impact his words had on her, but God did she appreciate the hell out of them. He did not just see through the walls she put up around her, he was breaking them down bit by bit. The thought simultaneously terrified her and excited her.

Over the past couple of days, she had finally begun to really let her friends in, to tell them the truth and it felt fantastic to not have to keep everything bottled up anymore. But, Marcus scared her. He had come to have such an impact on her life in such a short time. She wanted to lean into his embrace, yet she also wanted to pull away.

It took years for her to open up to her best friends, to Simon and Maria. Hell, she had not even told Saya everything yet. However, she wanted to tell Marcus, but she just could not.

As she stared into his warm, brown eyes, her own steely blues glistening with unshed tears, the Arguello boy began to lean down and close the space between them.

Oh, did she want to give in. She really did. He rested forehead against hers, his lips hovering an inch away from hers. She inhaled sharply at the close proximity. All she had to do was lean forward ever so slightly and their lips would meet.

Her hands went to Marcus' chest, gripping lightly at the white tee he was wearing. It had only been a few seconds, but it felt like a small eternity.

Then, she pulled away.

Andi had not realized she was holding her breath until that moment when her lungs refilled with air. Any tears that had tried during their tense moment returned as she became anxious with the awkward situation she created for herself.

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered in her flustered state. "I have to go."

"Andi, wait!" Marcus called out to her, but she was already out the door.

Andi hurried down to her room but was stopped when she spotted the monk at the end of the hall. Great, she thought, I guess detention is the perfect cherry on top of this shit show.

* * *

Simon had waved to Willie as the taller boy had gone to his room, but before the Londoner could open the door to his own dorm, he spotted a familiar Latina sneaking back to hers.

He cleared his throat loud enough to startle her and smirked as she jumped with a small yell.

"You ass," she chided with a smile.

"Where did you go?" he laughed softly.

They walked towards each other meeting halfway. "None of your business," she replied lightly, crossing her arms and cocking a hip to the side. "What about you? Why are you out so late?"

Simon shrugged, "Andi, Willie, and I were all hanging out with Marcus playing video games."

Maria raised her eyebrows, "Warming up to the new kid, huh?"

"Well, we had a nice bonding session after a, well let's just say 'altercation' with Chico at the dance."

Maria's expression quickly changed from joking one to a worried one. "What happened?"

"Nothing really," he said, brushing it off. "Andi punched him when he went after Marcus, and then Willie and I got involved after he shoved her to the ground."

"What?" she dropped her face into her hands, her fingers going to rub her temples anxiously. "You guys have to be careful! Chico is dangerous. Soto Vatos will come after you and I don't know what I'd do if something happened to—," Simon stopped her.

"Fuck Chico. Fuck Soto Vatos," he said seriously. "They're 'dangerous' but so are we! I don't give a shit about them and I highly doubt Andi does. The only one we care about is you! The only one I care about is you!" Simon huffed, trying to calm himself and keep his voice down in the quiet hall. "Chico is a piece of shit and you don't deserve what he puts you through. I am here for you whenever you need me. I will always have your back."

Maria's worry softened slightly, although it was still evident in the furrow between her brows. Without hesitation, she rocked onto her tiptoes, her hands resting on Simon's shoulders, and placed a soft, lingering kiss on his cheek.

When she pulled away, her hand reached up to rub away the red stain from her lipstick and she smiled up at him.

"Thank you," she told him, although it was barely a whisper. He nodded at her.

Pulling her hand back, she stepped away and continued down the hallway to her room, taking a second to glance back at the boy who would always be there for her.

* * *

**It's finally here! Thank you all for bearing with me as I got my shit together after wrapping up school. I have officially graduated and obtained my Master's Degree. I have post-grad PTSD and keep feeling like I have assignments due even though I don't.**

**I also want to be 100% real with you guys. I have struggled for years with anxiety and recently I've also started to have issues with depression. It genuinely sucked all motivation out of me, not just for writing but also for doing anything besides lying in bed. It was hard to get up in the morning. I had not even touched my laptop really for almost two weeks. Honestly, I think it stemmed from me finally coming to terms with the fact that my grandmother passed away, which was over a year ago. She was at my last two graduations and she wasn't at this one, so that hit me very hard as we were very close.**

**Luckily, my boss, who is like my #workdad and one of the only people I really have interaction with on a daily basis, helped me and gave me advice to pick myself back up and get back to doing what I enjoy, like writing. So, here is this chapter!**

**I hope you enjoy it! Next is the detention episode. I want to try to have the episode completely typed up by Sunday so I can get back to a regular schedule, but I'll settle if I have about half typed and the rest outlined.**

**Don't forget to vote and comment!**


	22. chapter twenty-two

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO**

**[**behavioral rectification**]**

**"i know the drill"**

* * *

Andi reclined on her bed, completely dressed and filing her nails as she waited patiently. A loud knock sounded through the quiet dorm room. With a soft sigh, the blonde stood and slipped on her white converse before answering the loud bang.

As soon as she opened the door, the noise from the hallway grew louder. Lin's monks stood on the other side, ordered to escort her to detention. They stepped forward to grab her upper arms but she pushed their hands away.

"I know the drill," Andi snapped. She was pissed, more at herself than the monk that caught her. She would not even be as mad if she had been given detention for fighting like Marcus had, but instead she was caught out of bed after curfew. Stupid, amateur _bullshit_.

Thinking of the Nicaraguan boy almost made Andi groan aloud as she made her way to the library, the monks trailing behind to make sure she did not take an unexpected detour. Seeing Marcus so soon after the previous night had her dreading this detention even more. She had run. Like a fucking coward.

Her mind was at war with itself when it came to Marcus. She wanted to let him in so badly, to just be with him. Yet another part of her, which sounded suspiciously like her mother, always persuaded her against the idea. She knew he was going to be confused at how things ended the previous night, but she could not afford to get anyone else mixed up in her shit.

They arrived at the library and Andi braced herself for the hellish next couple of days. The monks opened the door and before they could shove her inside, she snapped her head towards the one to her right and glared. "I said, I know the drill," she practically growled, stepping inside the dusty, dark library.

It seemed like she was the last to arrive, however, Master Lin was absent still. She heard the heavy doors slam behind her as she walked farther into the room. Nobody really acknowledged her presence. Well, no one except the one person she was trying to avoid.

Marcus looked up when she entered the room. Their eyes met and the blonde quickly looked away from the awkward eye contact. She could not stand to see the confused, helpless look in his eyes and know that she was the reason why it was there. Quickly diverting toward the desk Saya was sitting at, she took a seat next to the Kuroki girl and waited for the final member of their party to arrive.

As they waited for Lin, Andi leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms over her body and closed her eyes, desperately trying to ignore Marcus's stare. Her goal was to sleep through as much of this damn detention as she possibly could.

She opened her eyes for a split second only to see Saya looking at her with her eyebrows raised. Andi knew that she, too, was questioning why the blonde was not sitting next to Marcus. "Don't even ask," Andi muttered under her breath, knowing the other girl could hear her. "It's a long story."

It was not really a long story. Just an overly complicated one… even though it did not need to be.

Marcus must have shown up just before Andi did because he was still unaware of exactly what was going on. "What is this?"

"Prolonged confinement designed for behavioral rectification," Petra answered in an overly verbose manner. Andi smirked and, against her better judgment, simplified it for Marcus.

"Detention," the blonde explained, eyes still closed.

"What did you do?" the Arguello boy asked. For a moment, Andi believed her was speaking to her. He did not actually know why she was there after all. She had not been caught for fighting at the dance. When she opened her left eye to peek at him though, she realized he was addressing her table neighbor.

Saya merely glared at the rat before turning her gaze back forward. Andi knew that Marcus was the reason Saya was spending her weekend in detention; it was just another perk of him being her pledge. Whenever he gets in trouble, so shall she.

Master Lin finally entered the room, causing Andi to sit up, alert. Chico chose then to open his big mouth and try to plead his case. "Master Lin. All due respect, this must be an oversight 'cause I didn't do—," Lin cut him off with merely a look while Andi rolled her eyes at the Soto Vatos leader. "Yeah. Fine. But if I'm getting hit for fighting, shouldn't Willie's ass be in here, too?"

Andi almost spoke up just to shut Chico down, but she bit her tongue for once. Master Lin could handle this himself. Her detention was bound to go much more smoothly if she did not stir up shit in the first fifteen minutes of being there.

Unfortunately, Viktor took Chico's remarks as an invitation to speak to his own defense, albeit, not well. "All Viktor did was invite rodent girl to dance."

"All I did was punch a Nazi, inbred, debutante bi—," Petra started before Lin stopped her by placing his cane under her jaw.

Addressing everyone in the room, Lin finally spoke up. "You all committed the cardinal sin. You were caught." He walked away from Petra and down the aisle, smashing his cane into Jaden's leg and knocking it from the desktop. "_Agoge._ Spartan instruction that molded petulant Greek boys into the greatest warriors in the world. It had three basic tenets—conformity, discipline, and commitment to Sparta over one's own interests."

A monk went to confiscate Saya's katana from the desk, and she quickly placed a hand on top of it to stop him, "You wanna keep that hand?"

Andi closed her eyes and shook her head. Bad move, Saya, she thought.

Lin slammed the desk in front of them making Saya jump, although Andi remained unfazed. "You chose your baser instinct. Rivalry," Lin continued speaking, taking Saya's katana away himself. The monks continued to make their way around the room, confiscating items.

They came to Andi and she shook her head and raised her hands as if she were surrendering, "I don't have anything."

Lin gave her a disbelieving look and she sighed, annoyed that he could see right through her. "Fine," she said, reaching into the garter belt that was hidden just below the hemline of her tennis skirt and pulled out a butterfly knife that had been tucked away in a custom holster.

"Damn," she heard Jaden whisper, followed by a not-so-subtle wolf whistle. Andi rolled her eyes at the remark but noticed the glare Marcus sent the other boy's way.

"You will spend your weekend locked in this room," Master Lin said, giving the conditions of their punishment as he took possession of Andi's knife as well, "Contemplating my disappointment."

With those words, he left the seven teenagers to their very, _very_, long weekend.

* * *

The seven teenagers quickly let their boredom take control of them.

Marcus had been lucky enough to hide his journal before the monks were able to take it from him, so he occupied his time jotting down his thoughts and sketching away as he usually did. The others had turned to more unconventional means of keeping busy.

Saya played with the strings of her hoodie.

Petra twisted and pulled at her chewing gum.

Viktor used the encyclopedias as weights to workout.

Chico was littering his desktop in any and all stamps he could find.

And Jaden was attempting to cut off circulation in his fingers with a loose piece of string.

Then, there was Andi.

Marcus was convinced that this girl had him completely wrapped around his finger, even in the short amount of time that they had known each other. Everything that she did drew him in. It was why he could not help but draw _her_. He would never admit how many times he caught himself sketching her in his worn, black composition notebook.

It did not hurt that she was a bombshell in her own right. His eyes, like the other males in the room, were draw to her slender legs when she lifted the hem of her skirt to reach for her knife. His mind took him back to the night at Shabnam's party, when those legs were wrapped around his waist, leaving little room between them.

No, no, no, Marcus thought. Now was not the time or place to think of that. The last thing he wanted was to pop a boner while stuck in a library with six other people, half of whom he hated.

Besides, with their conversation after the dance, he had no idea what was going on in the blonde beauty's head. One moment, they were about to kiss and the next she was out the door, ignoring his calls.

Now, Andi was perusing the stacks, fingers skimming the spines of the old books, attempting to find something worth reading. She was also doing an excellent job of avoiding Marcus in the relatively small space. Granted, Marcus did not quite know how to approach the topic either, allowing her to have her space for the time being.

Eventually, though, he would bring it up. They had to talk about it at some point, sooner rather than later. He had to understand why she kept pulling away. Every time they took a step forward, as if they were going to actually just _be_ together, she took two steps back, ruining any progress.

Saya grew bored of fiddling with her hoodie strings, yanking them out altogether and standing abruptly. She walked over to the bookcase that Andi was at and the two began whispering back and forth to each other. They were too far away for Marcus to overhear, and he suspected that was the point entirely.

Another thirty minutes or so passed and everyone was still bored out of their minds. Vik was still working out. Jaden had long fell asleep. Saya moved to lay on top of the bookshelf that she and Andi had been talking by earlier. Chico was still working on his vandalism art project. And Petra had taken Andi's place in wandering the room, the blonde finally having settled down with a book.

"Hey, Vik. You got the time?" Marcus teasfed, noticing the three different watches the Russian had decorating his left wrist.

Viktor was unbothered, continuing his push-ups on the desk next to the Arguello boy. "Very funny, Nancy boy." He sighed, stepping back out of his stance. "Is Swatch. Top American style."

"That's smart," Marcus shrugged. "In case you break the other two."

Chico stood up abruptly and kicked his desk, causing Andi to look up from her book for the first time in a half an hour. "Fuck Lin and his Trojan bullshit."

"Spartan, actually, but who's actually paying attention…" the blonde muttered to herself, but Marcus overheard, smirking at the sarcastic remark.

"Once I get what I want from this joint," Chico continued, "I'm gonna stick a machete up his ass."

Andi laughed, her eyes moving back to her book. Marcus loved the sound of her laugh. It was so light and innocent sounding. The complete opposite of anything else that had to do with King's Dominion.

"Now he pipes up," Marcus said. "Forty-five minutes after he left."

Chico sneered at Marcus, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You're the one that I should be carving up, Arguello. Your queefy dart bullshit got us thrown in here, yeah?"

"Or, you know, you could just blame it on your own idiocy and anger issues? But, that would require some personal responsibility, which you don't have," Andi quipped sarcastically from across the room.

"You think the queefy dart was faster than The Flash?" Marcus asked Saya.

"No, but he could out-queef Superman for sure."

"Quick question, Chico. Does your ass ever get jealous of all the bullshit that comes out of your mouth? Asking for a friend…" Andi quipped again.

Realizing that he was not going scare them like he so desperately wanted to, Chico simply gave them all the finger and went back to his seat.

* * *

Simon's plans for this weekend were disappearing by the second.

Initially, he planned on taking Andi out and trying to get her mind off the shit week she had, but with the blonde nowhere to be found so those plans were quickly flying out the window. He had went to her dorm with no sign of her, even going so far as to ask Brandy where the hell his best friend was.

The blonde, Nazi bitch had been no help—big surprise—and so that left Simon to try to locate her other friends. He had seen Marcus being dragged off to detention earlier in the morning due to the fight from the dance. He knew that Andi had not gotten in trouble for that though, but could she have gotten detention for something else.

Honestly, detention would be the cherry on top of her shit week.

He was on his way to Saya's dorm, to see if the Kuroki girl knew where the blonde was, but before he could get there, he was unexpectedly yanked into another dorm.

"What the hell?" he started, before realizing that Maria was standing in front of him. "Maria? What's up? I was just looking for Andi."

"I saw her being escorted to the library for detention earlier. Chico's there too, along with Saya," the Mexican beauty stated in her accented voice, confirming his suspicions on Andi's location.

"Damn, I wish I had tickets to that cage match." Simon said before asking, "What did she get detention for?"

Maria shrugged. She was unsure about what transpired the night before after her and Saya had left. "I don't know, but the most important thing is that Chico is going to be locked in that room for the next two days. This is my chance to get away from him."

Realization dawned on him. This had been something Maria had only brought up to Simon once before in the past. When she had originally mentioned it, it had just been a pipedream. Never once did she think that the opportunity would actually present itself. However, the teenage gang leader finally slipped up and was caught, all thanks to him not being able to resist a fight against Marcus Arguello.

"I need your help," Maria started. "You can get me the papers I need to get out of here. Please."

"Of course. You know I'd do anything to help you Maria. Like I said, I am here whenever you need me." She smiled at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears at the prospect that she would finally be free and Simon would be the reason why. "Give me a few hours to get a passport made and arrange some transportation with a few of my contacts and meet me in the cemetery around six, all right?"

"Of course, thank you! Thank you so much," she exclaimed. Before he could turn to leave, she leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. The Londoner was struck with déjà vu from the night before.

Maria peeked her head out of the dorm room, careful that the hallway was clear before she gave Simon the signal that he could leave. Any efforts they made would be for nothing if the other Soto Vatos caught on to Maria's escape attempt.

Simon was not about to let her down. She had been through too much because of Chico and his family. She deserved happiness and this was her chance. Without wasting another second, Simon got to work. He had a lot of calls to make.

* * *

**I'm finally back! Whoop whoop!**

**I've been very busy the last month or so… I ended up moving in with a few friends but the room I was moving into needed a lot of work so your girl has been getting her hands dirty, cleaning and painting to make it look livable.**

**I'm finally finishing up some of the work though and my actual job is winding down now that summer is wrapping up. September is our last really busy month. I work in a beach town and we have some car cruising events coming up that will make it hard to update at work, but after that I should have significant time freed up. This will be my first slow winter season where I won't have school work to keep me busy so I am optimistic about future updates.**

**Sadly, Deadly Class is officially donezo… However, as I've said before, I plan on continuing into some material from the comics and some original material as well.**

**I thank all of you for the support and dedication you've shown this story! I can't believe I hit over 30K reads. I'm just blown away! Updates won't be as frequent as they were until later in the fall. I want to catch up on my MCU stories a lot. But, I also plan on updating about once a week, possibly Fridays as a goal.**

**Thanks so much again! Don't forget to vote and comment!**


	23. chapter twenty-three

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE**

**[**broken things**]**

**"we're all a little broken, or else we wouldn't kill people"**

* * *

"All I'm saying is what is done to you determines who you'll be," Marcus said, deep in a 'nature vs. nurture' debate with Chico.

"I'm who I chose to be," Chico stated back.

Jaden walked up joining in the conversation as Andi sat back and listened. "So, shitty parenting made Ted Bundy start shish-kebabing co-eds?" the stoner questioned.

"Bundy's dad—also his grandfather, what could go wrong?" Marcus answered.

Andi sighed, "It's not that simple. Nature and nurture both come into play. Bundy is a psychopath, his brain is hardwired differently than other people's. He has no capacity for remorse or guilt or real emotion in general. Any emotion he expressed was him mimicking what he knew was the norm and then manipulating those around him. Granted, there are other psychopaths that go their whole lives without ever killing anyone, so what made Bundy different? It's not a flip of the switch... it's gradual."

"Shit, nobody stuck a finger up my ass. I'm as deadly as they come," Chico defended himself.

The blonde teen rolled her eyes. "Nobody had too. You're not a psychopath, Chico." The taller boy narrowed his eyes at her, confused at her words. "No, you're a sociopath." There it was. He knew that she was going somewhere with this. "You have emotion, although no real guilt, and you're prone to violent tendencies with little to no impulse control."

Chico scoffed, bumping into Jaden as he walked away. Andi smirked when he did not attempt to argue with her remarks. That's because I'm right, she thought, and he knows it.

"Well, by Chico's logic, I made Viktor three fingers more deadly," Petra chimed in while searching through the card catalog.

Viktor immediately perked up. "She is lying. My 'shoofla' is exit only." Andi did not hold back a laugh that time.

"Never took you for a kinky kind of guy, Vik," the blonde teased and the Russian teen glared at her.

Chico spoke up again; directing his question at Andi, "Well, then if I'm a sociopath, then what does that make you?"

"If I had to label myself, I'd say... possible borderline personality disorder with a shot of trust issues and a sprinkling of narcissism. A killer cocktail if I do say so," she answered jokingly, albeit being serious the entire time.

Before anyone had a chance to comment, and Andi could tell Marcus really wanted to after her self-diagnosis, Saya finally pulled herself out of her own thoughts to give her two cents. "Whatever broken shit is inside us is there the day we're born. People are what they are."

Andi sighed. "Well, I guess we'll just agree to disagree. Although, I will agree to one thing... all of us in this room, we're all a little broken, or else we wouldn't kill people."

The air in the room grew tense as the conversation had grown increasingly somber. After a few seconds of silence, Jaden, who was usually slow to comprehend, turned to Viktor, "Wait, what's a 'shoofla'?" Everyone rolled their eyes and separated to find something else to occupy their time, ignoring the stoner's question.

* * *

A few more hours had passed and the room had begun to look even more disastrous. Empty chip bags and crumbs scattered the desktops, while a variety of stamps, random library books, and other miscellaneous items that they had found were strewn across the rest of the room.

The group had gone through another long bout of silence before boredom struck Marcus again. "I propose we conduct an experiment—evolve past the chimpanzee stage, and open ourselves up to free love, crunchy grooves, and drinking the soul's sweet, sweet stardust," the Arguello boy drawled out, sounding like a Grateful Dead fan. "Let's at least pretend to like each other."

"Torture Town, USA," Petra muttered.

Andi furrowed her eyebrows and gave him an incredulous look. It was the first time she had brought herself to make direct eye contact with him since this detention started. "Easy for you to say, Marcus. You've been at this school for like a week. The rest of us have had to deal with each other a lot longer than that. There's history."

At her words, looks were exchanged around the group. Glares from Andi and Saya toward Chico, which he returned, followed by an understanding glance from Petra toward the blonde, and lastly an uncomfortable exchange between the Broughton legacy and Vik and Jaden.

Everything Andi had said was true. Some members of their group had more recent issues, most of which resulted in them being stuck in the library in the first place. However, other issues were deeply rooted among the students at King's Dominion. Saya and Andi had major beef with Chico over Maria, an issue that had been going on since the three girls became close over a year ago. Vik had hooked up with Andi and Petra both on very separate occasions. Jaden had tried to make moves on the blonde in the past too. Soto Vatos and the Jocks, led by Viktor, had a shaky past, the truce among their members as well as the partial cease-fire with Dixie Mob being relatively new. And Petra was a Rat—an outcast. No one, not even Saya and Andi, had much interaction with the Rats before Marcus started at King's. The only thing that the two girls could attest to is that they did not harass the Rats like everyone else did.

Life at King's was rough. Marcus was just lucky enough to come to King's during one of their more peaceful times, even if it did not seem like that to him.

Jaden, who seemed to be losing it a little since they ran out of food, spoke up, "Two bags of chips for two days. That's torture."

"There's enough monosodium glutamate in there to kill a rhino," Petra said.

"Mm, MSG," Saya added.

Marcus looked between his friends, "The monks are gonna bring more food, right?" Andi chuckled to herself.

"Think again," she said. "One box per detention." Sighs echoed through the room.

"Lucky one of my superpowers is starving."

Viktor laughed, "What is other? Sitting on man's 'horkum'?" Marcus shot him a nasty look.

Suddenly, Petra perked up, speaking to the room. "You know, if it's junk food you desire, we could break into the vaults of Valhalla."

Andi agreed right away, "Oh, I'm so in. Let's do it. I'm actually upset I didn't think of it sooner." She was the only one in the room that even remotely knew what Petra was talking about. Everyone else was utterly confused.

Petra stood from her chair and started to pace the room. "There's a chest... this big...," she starts, holding her arms out just past shoulder width. "Full of diabetes-inducing treats, among other glorious contraband."

"This is your brain on drugs," Jaden said, finally understanding. "The confiscation room is impenetrable, man."

Chico laughed, "Like Saya's panties." The Kuroki girl raised her middle finger at him.

"Maybe for you," Andi teased Jaden.

"It's been done, once," Petra insisted. "Lin's cornucopia was pried open by a group of industrious detention attendees. The robbers inscribed their deeds on the rooftop. The golden door on the secret floor."

Saya slammed her hand down on her desk. "I bet that's where my sword is," she stated, joining in on the crusade.

Immediately, the Kuroki girl stood up, charging over to the door and kicking at it aggressively. Andi walked toward her friend and sat on the table behind her, watching the short-haired girl waste all her energy hopelessly attacking the heavy, wooden door. Marcus trailed behind her, letting out a chuckle as the blonde crossed her arms and let out a huff.

"Whenever you get tired or pull a muscle, let me know so we can come up with a real plan to get out of here, okay Saya?" Saya paused to glare at her blonde friend. In the time that Saya paused, Marcus took his chance, kneeling down in front of the door and pulling out his tools to pick the lock. The Kuroki girl huffed and walked away, leaving Andi and Marcus alone, the tense atmosphere between them returning.

"Should've known you'd try to play hero, Marcus. I'm beginning to think you have a complex," the blonde said, poking fun at the boy in front of her.

"God, it's so obvious," he said, glancing up at her briefly before turning his attention back to the lock.

"What?" Andi asked.

He shook his head with a light laugh, "You want to get married and have babies and hump on the washing machine all day and—."

"Well, I mean, humping on the washing machine is only a natural progression from making out on someone's bathroom sink and hooking up in their guest room," she cut him off, extremely nonchalant about their night together. Marcus was confused by her tone. She sounded as if she was joking, as if she had not shut him down the previous night and been pretty much ignoring him since detention started. If Andi was anything, she was an enigma. For a moment, it made him believe that everything was all right between them. Until she spoke again. "Too bad that will never happen again."

Her expression was solemn, all signs of joking gone. All the hope that had been welling in the Arguello boy's chest had disappeared suddenly as he just looked up at her, dismayed by her words.

"What happened, Andi? Did I say something wrong? Do something wrong? Everything was going well and then you just... left." He was lost, not understanding how everything went south so quickly between them, and rightfully so. Andi had left him hanging with no explanation; she did not deny that. However, to Andi, Marcus had enough issues of his own to work through. He did not need her baggage on top of that, especially with Abaddon rearing his ugly head again.

"No, no...," she started quietly, but Marcus continued.

"I need you to know that I meant all of it. I don't regret anything that I said. I'm sorry if it upset you, or something, but I'm not sorry I said it."

The silence returned. Andi just did not know how to express what she was feeling toward him. She wanted to accept what he was saying and let herself be happy for once, but there was a constant dark cloud over her head, reminding her of what happens when she gets close to people. Hell, her closest confidante growing up was murdered by someone she thought was her friend, her mother was on the run, and now, Maria, Simon, and Saya were in possible danger from that same traitorous 'friend' that has seen to making her life a living hell. If she really cared about Marcus, would she allow him to care about her? Pushing him away was her only way to keep him safe. Pushing him away was the only way Andi could minimize the pain.

She needed to steel herself, cut off all attachment and emotion. If her mother saw her now, she would be disappointed. Andi had grown soft. It was too late in some aspects, but in others, she could nip those feelings in the bud before they grew out of her control. The blonde needed to be in control of herself.

The doorknob clicked as it unlocked. The others heard it and approached the door, Marcus giving them a cocky smile the entire time they filed past him and through the doorway. Just as Andi went to exit, she caught Marcus' attention with a whisper, "I know you meant it. That's the problem."

* * *

**This chapter is a little shorter, but I felt like it was a good place to end it. **

**Also, sorry for any confusion with Andi's emotional roller coaster. She's a confusing character to write and I mean for her to be a little wishy-washy with her feelings. I think of her as being kind of emotionally stunted and lonely in her childhood and her friendship with Abaddon/Erik was very freeing to her even though he was manipulating her and targeting her vulnerabilities. The night he betrayed her, he kind of ripped away everything that was good in her life (AKA her friendship with him and her positive role-model relationship with Delphine). Then she was taken to King's (which will be covered in more flashbacks), where she slowly came to realize she truly couldn't survive without allies (AKA Simon, Maria, and Saya). Her feelings in regards to her friends crept up on her to the point where she only recently acknowledged them as friends. So, the fact that her relationship with Marcus burned bright and fast for the beginning of this book was purposely very out of character for her and frightened her. Therefore, it made her almost boomerang back to being emotionally stunted as a coping mechanism. Her little self-diagnosis was a fun quip to make, but she does exhibit symptoms of everything she stated. So, unfortunately, her relationship with Marcus may be taking a few steps back before it moves forward again. Sorry to disappoint, but stick with me because we are in this for the long run friends.**

**Sorry for my rant, I just want to make sure everyone kind of gets where I'm coming from. Let me know what you think and follow, favorite, and review!**


	24. chapter twenty-four

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR  
[**misery loves company**]  
**

**"if you point your finger at me one more time"**

* * *

The group of detention-goers quietly made their ways through the halls of King's Dominion. Well, quiet was not exactly the best word to describe their journey. While Petra was leading the way, Chico was trying—and failing—to explain Robocop to Viktor. Andi, trying not to start another awkward conversation with Marcus, decided to help the wannabe drug lord. The one and only time they would ever be on each other's side.

"So he is cop-man or he is cop-robot?" Vik asked thoroughly confused about the idea of the show.

Chico frustrated ran a hand over his shaved head. "Half and half."

"Which is robot half?"

"Oh my god," Andi groaned as Chico let out a "No, man!"

"He's a dude in a big old metal suit," the tattooed teenager continued.

Andi, standing on Vik's other side, stepped in, giving Chico a rest from explaining. "He's a cyborg. Half-man, half-robot, all cop. I'd think you'd be familiar with the idea of someone being a cyborg considering you are also one, Vik." Viktor shot her a glare.

Petra, too, could no longer sit back and listen to the back and forth. "Andi's right. It's not a suit. They replaced his body with cybernetics. The 'robo' part keeps his brain alive." Andi smacked Chico's arm and he moved his hand like a puppet, mocking Petra as she corrected him.

"This is very confusing film," Viktor finally said.

"It's confusing if you only have half a brain," the blonde girl muttered under her breath, causing Chico to scoff out a laugh. She gave him an incredulous look, shocked that he actually laughed at something she said. She sooner thought she would keel over before that happened.

Catching her look, Chico rolled his eyes and whispered, "Cállate."

"Te callas," she whispered back.

As they continued through the corridors, Andi could vaguely hear Saya explaining to Marcus about how he was her pledge and what kind of effect that had on her, such as getting detention for shit that he did. "Your honor lives in your sword, and I'm not leaving my honor in a closet next to some Hot Pockets," Saya said as she finished explaining to the Arguello boy why her sword was so important to her.

"Hey," Andi interjected. "Don't rag on Hot Pockets. They're the only reason I've survived this far in life." The Kuroki girl cracked the slightest of smiles before they were interrupted by Chico shushing them and pointing a finger at Andi. The blonde turned on the taller boy, "If you point your finger at me one more time, I'm gonna break it off and shove it up your ass." He huffed but stayed uncharacteristically quiet before pointing to the staff lounge where all of Lin's monks were hanging out. Chico gave her a smug look as she realized why he shushed them, but she just answered it with a sneer before meeting up with Petra and Viktor.

The group quickly and quietly—for real this time—moved past the doorway and down the hall, avoiding detection. After turning a few more corners, they finally came across the door that led to the trove of confiscated treasures. Marcus knelt down with his lock picking set and got to work.

"You skeptics don't deserve the spoils that await," Petra started. Andi gave her an 'are you serious' look before she corrected, "Except for Andi. She knew this would all be worth it. But luckily for the rest of you... I'm a generous captain."

A few more seconds passed before an audible click came from the lock. Marcus twisted the handle and pushed open the door to 'Valhalla' as the rest of the teens looked on. The teens looked over the room in amazement before venturing into it and seeing what the many shelves had to offer, which was a lot!

There were chainsaws hanging on the wall, jerry-rigged bombs sitting on shelves, tons of alcohol, and even more, random shit.

Andi walked around, checking everything out and taking in her surroundings. She did not even know where to start. She spotted a keyboard towards the back and began to make her way over when she heard Viktor.

"There are explosives in here," the Russian teen started, looking to Chico. "Let's blow some shit up."

"Vik, put the bomb down. That's literally the quickest way to get us all in even worse trouble," Andi scolded. With an upset look, the Russian blond listened, putting the explosive down and walking away to find something else.

Andi continued over to the keyboard, snatching what appeared to be a decent bottle of champagne on the way. Brushing her fingers gently over the keys, the blonde played a melody she had not thought about in a long time. It was muscle memory, her fingers automatically going to the correct keys and playing the tune she had practiced so many times. She closed her eyes and imagined Delphine sitting next to her on the piano bench, proud that even after all these years she still remembered.

"I didn't know you could play the piano," Marcus said from beside her, shaking her from her reverie.

Andi pulled her hands back from the keys, letting her arms fall to her sides as she turned to the Nicaraguan boy. "There's a lot you don't know about me." At face value, it sounded teasing, a flirtation even. However, when taking into account the more recent turbulence in their relationship, it was like another twist of the knife to Marcus.

For a moment, he agreed with her previous remarks. They really did not know each other. They only knew about what had been going on in both their lives for the past couple weeks, nothing deeper. Andi knew that Marcus had been homeless, was very anti-establishment, and did not kill those kids from his boys' home. Marcus knew that Andi was a fake bitch to everyone but her friends, very skilled at killing people, and now knew that she could play the piano. Sure, they also knew the basics of each other's personalities, but that did not mean they truly knew one another. Each had their fair share of skeletons in the closet.

Their tense moment was broken when Saya announced to her friends, "It's not here."

Her sword.

Truthfully, Andi was not too worried about Saya's katana. Even though she knew it was important to Saya, maybe she just did not understand how important it was. The blonde had known Master Lin since she was a preteen. Sure, he could be a bit of a hard ass sometimes, but she doubted he was planning to keep Saya's sword permanently. He knew what it meant to her.

"Where else could it be?" Marcus asked. Saya shrugged hopelessly and turned away to wallow in self-pity for a minute. He turned to look at Andi who merely shook her head before exploring the rest of the room.

After about thirty minutes, the teens had found plenty more to occupy themselves with than when they were locked in the library.

Chico and Marcus donned some armor pieces, brandishing foam clubs and play fighting like a couple of kids, albeit a little rougher. Marcus landed a particularly hard it, knocking the helmet from Chico's head.

"You're waking the wolf, Arguello," the Latino boy said threateningly.

"Ooh," Marcus mocked back.

"I'm gonna jack you up." It was quite amusing for Andi to witness, as just the night before they two were actively trying to kill each other. The blonde felt like she was in some sort of parallel universe where they were all getting along for once.

She glanced over to see Viktor pulling a grenade out of a Russian doll set. She assumed it was his but shook her head anyway. The blonde knew he planned on sneaking it out and the last thing this school needed was that guy with a live grenade.

In another part of the room, Petra and Jaden were making some sort of concoction with Mountain Dew, Pop Rocks, and... powdered cheese? "Oh, it's like riding a cheese dragon through a forest of delicious sweets," Jaden said in awe as he tasted Petra's masterpiece. He looked like he was enjoying it but Andi could not help but recoil in disgust. There was no way Petra was getting her to try that.

The blonde was perfectly happy standing off to the side drinking her champagne and flipping her previously confiscated butterfly knife that she found buried on one of the back shelves. Lin had taken it last year when she kept flipping it around in class. She had been pissed when it happened, but now, all was well. Reunited and it felt so good.

"What?" Andi heard Saya ask, causing the blonde to look up and see her and Marcus talking again. The blonde sighed.

"Just doesn't seem like you're having much fun," he said.

Saya absentmindedly fiddled with the dagger in her hand. "If I lose my katana, my life is over."

"What do you think's gonna happen—Lin's pawning it?" Marcus asked.

Andi walked over. "Saya, I'm sure Lin will return it as soon as detention is over."

"Oh, like how he returned your knife?" she quipped back.

"It's different and you know it is," the blonde argued with her dark-haired friend. "Lin knows what your katana means to you. He's probably taking extra care with it. Maybe, he even has it with him, keeping an eye on it himself."

"It'll turn up," Marcus adds, the two friends doing everything they can to try to cheer the Kuroki girl up and help her enjoy herself.

Saya crossed her arms, "How do you know?"

Marcus shrugged, "Things always work out." He smiled as Saya looked at him disbelievingly for a beat.

"Vietnam, cancer kids, Sonny and Cher, and weren't you homeless?"

Marcus' smile dropped and Andi rolled her eyes. "Yeah," the Arguello boy started. "It's just something my dad used to say. It's not a hundred percent, I guess. It's probably closer to ten."

"Actually, I'd give it twenty percent. I mean—You're not homeless anymore, are you?" Andi interjected.

"True."

Saya sighed and walked to the other side of the shelf. The three noticed Chico dancing with a fake skeleton wearing a sombrero before Saya launched her dagger in their direction, piercing and deflating a ball beside them. The sudden throw startled Chico causing him to jump back and drop the skeleton. The Latino boy huffed and walked off, giving Saya a nasty look as he did. The ball continued to hiss as the air escaped.

"Really, Saya?" Andi asked. Everything was going great. The last thing Andi wanted was for their little adventure to end so soon because Saya unnecessarily triggered a Chico tantrum.

Marcus slowly approached the Japanese girl. "Misery love company. But the second, lesser-known part is: Company doesn't much care for misery."

As Marcus was telling this to Saya, something caught Andi's eye. A bright orange dirt bike was propped against the wall, half-covered by a greying tarp. She nudged Marcus and pointed it out to him. He shot her a smile in agreement before she wandered over to it and pulled the tarp away.

Swinging a leg over the bike, she sat down on it and looked it over. After a quick, once-over inspection, she knew that it was good to go. "Hey, Miss Mopey," she called out to Saya teasingly. The Kuroki girl looked over to see her blonde friend straddling the bike "If you're done pouting, there's fun to be had."

"It's a little smaller than yours, but this is guaranteed to cheer you up," Marcus said.

Andi picked up the football helmet from beside the bike and tossed it to Saya who caught it. "So, cheer the fuck up!" The two smiled big goofy smiles at Saya waiting for her to break.

Finally, she did, her lips quirking up at the corners. "Ah! There is it! A smile!" Andi cheered as she hopped off the bike and left it open for the girl who sorely needed a little fun in her life.

* * *

**It's a little shorter but l****et me know what you think! Don't forget to vote and comment! Thank you!**


	25. chapter twenty-five

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE**

**[**true colors**]**

**"now is not the time to be a raging asshole"**

* * *

The course was set. Using an old street sign and some other random items from the confiscation room, the group of teens created a sturdy jump for Saya. The girl looked like a proper daredevil, American flag cape and all. The engine revved down the hall as the Kuroki girl readied herself for the jump over some spike strips they found.

"Hundred bucks says she doesn't make it," Chico said to Marcus. The younger boy looked back and forth between Chico and Saya for a minute before holding his hand out to Chico to seal the deal. They shook on it as Andi chuckled.

"Easiest hundred bucks ever made," she whispered to Marcus.

Tires squealed as track marks were left behind in the hallway. Andi was surprised they had not been caught yet, but she did not dwell on the thought for long. Saya took off toward the ramp, the bike holding steady as it launched into the air. The group watched in anticipation as the back wheel hovered over the spike strips before clearing it, but just barely.

Marcus, Andi, Victor, and Jaden all cheered loudly as Petra clapped and laughed in awe. Chico, who was now out a hundred bucks, even found it in him to clap, newfound respect toward the Kuroki girl.

Saya removed the football helmet from her head, shaking out her hair as she laughed. Andi was happy to see her friend enjoying herself. The dark-haired girl often took everything too seriously that sometimes it seemed like she forgot she was still a teenager. It was normal to let loose every once in a while. "Okay, that was pretty fucking cool," she admitted with a large grin. "Can we make it bigger?"

The guys looked at each other appreciatively at the guts the girl in front of them had. "Hell yeah, we can! Then, I want to try," Andi said, getting another laugh from the Kuroki girl.

The teens went looking through the rest of the scrap and lost belongings they had pulled from the room, trying to find things that could make the ramp bigger and better. It did not take long for them to become distracted.

"So what, mass extinction?" Marcus asked the group as they shifted through boxes.

"World can't support five billion people," Chico answered. "That's some science shit."

Andi let out a small laugh, "Please, Chico, share with us some more of your valuable wisdom." She picked up an older recurve bow only to have it plucked from her grasp by the junior gang leader himself. Raising an eyebrow at him, she let out a soft, "Really?" to which he simply shrugged and continued speaking.

"Amount of fossil fuel we're guzzling," he laughed, pulling back on the bowstring. "Humans got fifty years 'til it's 'Mad Max' time." Chico released the arrow, which to Andi's surprise flew straight and true to its target.

Viktor chuckled and chimed in, "Hey, Petra already has costume for ending of world." Andi rolled her eyes at his attempt to be funny. The only ones laughing were him and Chico.

Petra obviously was getting tired of Viktor's jabs, picking up a dagger from the box she was going through with Saya and started towards the Russian teenager. Saya stood as Viktor let out a mocking, "Oh—." The Kuroki girl held out an arm keeping Petra back, "Stabbing him will not make him any less of an asshole."

Andi nodded in agreeance from her spot on the floor and scoffed as Viktor held out his arms innocently. "What did I say?" he tried, knowing full well what he did.

Just then, Chico inserted a cassette tape into the boom box they brought with them. "In Between Days" by The Cure started playing through the speakers.

"It appears you have one redeeming quality," Marcus told him.

Petra, still sour from Viktor's comment, spoke up, "The rank and vile discovers "The Head on the Door" and suddenly they deserve our praise?"

"Hey, he could have put on Julio Iglesias."

Petra turned to Chico, "Name one Cure B-side."

"You got your B-side right here," Chico said, grabbing at his crotch as he took a step closer to the punk-goth girl.

She turned away, "Think I made my point."

"This is my little bro's favorite album," the taller, Latino boy stated, flipping the cassette case in his hand.

Marcus glanced at him briefly before looking back down, "He's got good taste."

Chico was quiet for a moment. "_Had_ taste." It was obvious to Marcus, as well as Andi who had been listening in on the conversation, that Chico's brother was dead. For a moment, the blonde girl thought that she could see a hint of vulnerability in the teen's light brown eyes.

"Oh, I didn't know," Marcus replied.

"Why would you?" Chico through the cassette case to the ground at Marcus' feet. "We—We don't even live on the same planet."

"We've all lost people."

"Yeah," Chico whispered, his eyes narrowed at Marcus in contempt. He looked as if he were about to continue when Andi interrupted.

"Don't even bother, Marcus," she told the younger of the two. "He neither wants nor deserves your pity." Chico's glare turned toward the blonde sitting on the ground nearby. She shot him a wry smile, "Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong."

Before any of them had the chance to speak again, the engine of the motorbike revved down the hall. Andi stood up and turned toward the noise, expecting to see Saya going for another run. Instead, Jaden sat atop the bike looking determined.

"Idiot," Andi muttered under her breath. He did not know what he was doing. The stoner was more likely to wind up with a spike through his head than clear the jump they set up.

Marcus seemed to have the same idea. "Dude, you're gonna break your neck," he warned.

Jaden did not care though, ignoring the advice. He held up his left hand and began counting down. "Three… two… one!"

_Slash!_

The group stared in horror as Jaden's hand was cut clean from the rest of his body. He screamed in agony, falling from the bike as two men wearing Japanese Oni masks and wielding razor-sharp weapons stand over him.

"Saya," Andi whispers to her friend. "I think our guests are here to see you."

Saya shot Andi a worried look before the group leaped into action. Flipping her butterfly knife, Andi lunges forward, all the while wishing she had a weapon that could pack more of a punch.

She dodges a swing from the man in the red mask only to get nicked on the arm by the blade of the man in the black mask. The warm blood drips down her arm as she goes to dodge another hit. Unknowingly, the red masked man slashed at her calf, the pain enough to send Andi to her knees. She pushes back, trying to get out of the main brawl so she could pull herself to her feet.

It did not take very much time for Andi to put two and two together to realize that these men were Kuroki. The masks alone hinted it. They were exceptionally trained. A bunch of unprepared kids in a too-tight space was no match for them. One had already swung a hatchet down onto Petra's shoulder blade and Viktor was pretty sliced up too. The last straw was when the red-masked man held his katana to Saya's throat.

They needed to get the hell out of here and quick.

Chico reached down and grabbed Andi by her uninjured arm, practically dragging her with the rest of them as the retreated down the hall. Marcus led the way with the rest of them quickly behind. Andi glanced behind her to see Saya escape the two men and run after them.

The group stopped at the lounge that the monks had been in earlier only to see them all slaughtered. "They're dead. Go! Go!" Saya insisted as the masked men were just behind them.

Chico still partially supporting Andi with her injured leg helped the blonde down the stairs. If she was not so fearful for her life at that moment, she may have teased him about helping the supposed bane of his existence.

The group burst into the library, Viktor immediate collapsing to the ground in pain from his chest wound. Saya and Petra were close behind with Marcus holding open the door for the rest of them anxiously. Chico released his grip on Andi, who ran as quickly as her leg would allow her, only to grab Jaden and shove him to the floor. The tall Latino boy pushed the blonde forward once again as they made it into the library.

The two assassins took out Jaden as Marcus watched from the doorway. He did not have much time to dwell on what he saw before Saya yanked him inside and slammed the heavy, wooden doors shut. Andi hunched over, attempting to catch her breath. The burning pain from her leg was enough to distract her from the slice mark across her right bicep. Stumbling over to a desk, she allowed herself to plop onto a chair.

"You—You killed Jaden," Marcus accused Chico. Andi glanced up for a moment before continuing to look over her injuries.

"Fuck Jaden!" Chico yelled back. "Another second, they would have been in here hacking us to pieces!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Marcus growled.

"We got no first aid, Marcus! He was a dead man! You don't want to like it, but I saved us." Andi could not concentrate with the two of them yelling back and forth. They needed a plan, like yesterday, and screaming at each other was getting them nowhere.

"He's right," Andi interjected, causing Marcus to look at her like she was just as insane as Chico. Maybe, in a way, she was. People like Andi and Chico, even Saya, Viktor, and the other legacies at King's, were taught to think differently than other, normal teenagers. Rats had a hard time understanding the utilitarian thinking process that the legacies had because their morals were still in line with the way society bred them to be.

"What?" Marcus asked her incredulously.

The blonde girl shrugged, causing her to wince from the pain in her arm. "He's _right_, Marcus," she stressed. "I mean, look at this place. We're not exactly an operational triage center. They cut off his hand! He was either going to die out there or die in here from blood loss. At least this way, the rest of us have a chance. Look at us," she stated, gesturing to her own injuries as well as Petra and Viktor's more fatal wounds. They already had two people they needed to look after.

As if to back up Andi's point, Petra called out, "Marcus?" before collapsing to the floor beside Viktor, blood seeping through her fingers. "I can't…"

"Shit," Marcus said, going to her aid. Saya went over, ripping apart her American flag to try to staunch the bleeding.

As they tended to Petra, Chico and Andi shared a look. She nodded to him in thanks, which he returned in kind. They were not friends because of this, but she was thankful to be alive and without Chico's help, she could be dead in the hallway alongside Jaden. Chico fidgeted anxiously, "Besides, if I hadn't pushed Jaden back, then your little girlfriend might not have made it. And I think we all know who you're happier to see."

Andi smiled at him sarcastically, "Never knew you cared so much, Chico. Even after I punched you in the face."

Petra yelled out in pain as Saya wrapped her wound and Andi began to do the same to her own. Slowly, but not without discomfort, the blonde took off her sweatshirt and cut off the sleeves with her knife. She wrapped one sleeve around her leg, the other around her arm before moving beside Viktor and using the rest to pad his bleeding abdomen.

"_You cannot outrun your fate, petulant child_," the group heard one of the men call out in Japanese. Andi looked over to Saya as they banged on the outside of the door.

Chico huffed worriedly, "We're gonna die in here."

"No one's dying," Andi and Marcus said together. They met each other's eyes before turning away quickly. Andi scoffed quietly to herself, knowing that Marcus was upset that she did not agree with him about Jaden.

"Are you blind?" Chico exclaimed before gesturing to the injured two on the floor. "They're fucking dying! The monks are slaughtered! We're trapped! No weapons, no nothing!"

"We grab some chairs, we make a barricade," Marcus tried to reason, "Okay? We'll wait them out." But Chico was beyond reason. He was getting emotional, his fight or flight instincts flaring like a rabid animal backed into a corner. Emotions made everything messy.

Marcus moved the couch in front of the doors and all Chico did was laugh humorlessly. "You think a couch is gonna slow down those Terminators?"

"Chico's right," Saya stated from her spot next to Petra. Andi was sure that Marcus was tired of hearing those words by now. "They're not gonna stop until they get what they came for."

"How do you know?" Marcus asked.

The dark-haired girl paused. "Because they're Kuroki."

"'Kuroki?'" Chico questioned before growing angry. "What kind of crazy shit you pulled us into, Saya?"

The pounding from the Kuroki assassins continued. Marcus glanced back at the wavering doors, "What do they want?"

"Me," Saya answered simply.

"Well, sayonara, princess," Chico said. "I vote we hand her ass over."

Andi stood and approached the three, resting a hand on Chico's shoulder in case she needed to pull him away from the other two. "Relax, everyone just needs to take a minute. Now is not the time to be making rash decisions."

Chico pulled away from her. "You're really willing to risk your life over her?" he directed at the blonde.

"I already have. How do you think I got these?" she answered, pointing to the bloody cloth covering her arm and leg. "We're not handing Saya over, so I guess we better come up with a Plan B."

"Whatever. If you want to die, go ahead. Leave me out of it." The assassins pounded on the door again and Saya went to approach it.

"Hey, at least let me die knowing who killed me," Marcus said.

"My cousins," Saya said. "They're here to take me home. I didn't exactly leave Tokyo on good terms."

"We'll stop them."

"I've watched the Kamigas massacre an entire Triad gang with their bare hands."

Chico scoffed, "That's just beautiful. You act like you're some big hero. Always judging everyone." He turned to Andi and Marcus, "She wants to go back to her Kung Fu family, let her."

"You think we just walk away?" Marcus seethed. "They want her alive. And the rest of us?"

"This is some bullshit! _Puta madre, cabrón!_" the gang leader yelled, slamming his hand against a bookcase. He tore the books from the shelves and kicked over an armor display before storming off to the other side of the room. Marcus went to speak with Saya while Andi tried her luck again with Chico.

"Hey, you know that the only way we get out of here alive is if we work together on this, huh? Now is not the time to be a raging asshole," she said to him.

Chico scoffed. "Now is also not the time to be a stupid bitch. Sacrificing Jaden was fine as long as it benefited the group, but now that it's Saya's head on the chopping block, none of you are willing to do what it takes."

Andi sighed. "This is different. There was no way that Jaden was going to make it with his hand. It was a split-second decision, but it was the right one. Throwing Saya to the wolves just because it's the easiest idea isn't going to work now. Not when we have time to come up with a better plan." She started to walk away, wanting to check on Petra and Vik's injuries.

She was only a couple of feet away when she heard Chico mutter, "Thought you were smarter than this." The blonde bit her lip to keep from snapping at him. Now was not the time.

Checking over the two, she knew that they had to come up with an alternative plan fast. Their skin was paling from blood loss and they did not have much time left. Saya joined her friend as she looked over the injured two. "Viktor's losing a lot of blood."

"We'll just have to…" Marcus started.

"What?" Saya asked as she and Andi looked to him.

Suddenly Andi realized why he was frantically looking around as she glanced toward where she had left Chico sitting. "Where the hell's Chico?" Marcus asked softly.

Andi huffed angrily, quickly moving to her feet despite the protest from her leg. She limped over to where she had left the taller boy and turned to her right, noticing the open grate in the wall. "He left. He fucking left."


	26. chapter twenty-six

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

**[**plan b**]**

**"it could be the difference between life and death"**

* * *

Saya, Andi, and Marcus crawled through the vents after Chico.

The blonde was initially apprehensive about leaving Petra and Viktor alone with their life-threatening injuries, but when the goth girl insisted she go, making the blonde see that she needed to go fight the Kurokis, Andi listened.

Eventually, the vents let out into stone hallways that made up the bowels of King's Dominion. Saya led the way. The Kuroki girl seemed to know where she was going but Andi did not know if she was just acting confident. Andi did not argue though, letting the dark-haired girl navigate.

Marcus trailed behind the two girls, glancing around nervously every once in a while.

"I'm gonna flay that bastard," Saya seethed, referring to Chico.

Andi scoffed, "Not if I get to him first." The leader of Soto Vatos had one job, to just sit there and let the blonde come up with a plan. He lasted all of three seconds before jumping ship. Some big, scary _badass_ he was. No, Chico was a coward and he always would be. One lapse of judgment on both of their behalves could not change that.

The blonde did not understand what exactly made him help her while Saya's cousins were trying to eviscerate them, but she had chalked it up to instincts in the face of fear. They may not be anything close to friends, but they were still peers. Up until recently, there was a certain level of respect they each had toward each other. Andi may have hated him and hated what he did to her best friend, but she respected his power and influence.

Now, though, any respect she had toward him was long gone. Any inkling of understanding had been thrown out the window and lost in the wind. Chico was a coward. Plain and simple. He took the easy way out and left the rest of them behind. Sure, the baby gang leader did not owe them anything. But, how were you supposed to breed loyalty amongst your people when you were not loyal to them either.

Andi sure hoped that for his sake, _El Alma del Diablo_ had another in mind to lead Soto Vatos when he was done because the cartel would fall under Chico's rule.

Chico was a mad dog, and mad dogs needed to be put down.

Marcus let out a short, sarcastic laugh. "Here I thought you guys were close. Aren't you like best friends now?" he directed toward Andi.

The blonde quickly spun toward Marcus, her hair whipping out, the ends stinging his cheek as the strands hit him at such speed. "Excuse me?" she hissed at him, slowing down briefly so that they were now walking next to each other.

Marcus gulped nervously at the ire in her eyes. The words had slipped out before he even realized what he was saying, but it was too late now. "You and Chico? Hell, back there you were like two peas in a pod."

"Why? Because we agreed on something? Jesus Christ, Marcus. Get over yourself," the blonde teen snapped. "Maybe Chico should've just left me to die in that hallway instead. It's obvious that you're really torn up about your butt buddy Jaden. Sorry to be an inconvenience."

"That's not what I meant," he tried to backtrack, his blood pressure rising. As frustrated as he was getting with her, a small voice in the back of his mind kept telling him how he loved the fire in her eyes. Only _he_ could get turned on by the girl he liked arguing with him.

"We don't have time for this right now," Andi continued. "Chico had a point and I agreed with him. I'm just sensible enough to acknowledge that just because I hate someone, doesn't mean that they're brain dead. Well, not yet, because when I get my hands on him—."

"Will you shut up?" Saya cut her off. "Both of you."

"If my cousins don't already know where we are, they will soon if you don't _stop talking_," the dark-haired girl continued.

The arguing pair grew quiet as they turned the corner only to see Chico standing on the other side of a gate. The three took off for the gate.

"Chico!" Marcus yelled, only for the taller teen to shut the gate in their faces. The three collided with the iron, banging on it but it would not budge.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Andi snapped.

"God damn it! Don't do this!" Marcus tried.

Chico ignored them both, looking to Saya instead. "Enjoy the family reunion." He lifted his fist in victory before backing out and leaving the other teens to find another way out.

Marcus pushed away from the gate, Saya and Andi following shortly after. Andi wrung at her hands anxiously. She needed to come up with a plan B and fast.

* * *

**Five Years Ago—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania**

Most parents would find it inappropriate to drop their twelve-year-old in an unknown city to fend for themselves in the early morning hours. But, Lorraine Broughton was no ordinary parent and Andi was no ordinary twelve-year-old.

The task was simple. Simply said, that is... not so much simply executed.

Andi had to get from Point A to Point B without any unnecessary damage or delay. That is why the blonde tween was wandering the trolley tracks long after the trolley stopped running for the night.

Breaking into the trolley station was easy. There was no security, no policing. All she needed was a basic lockpick. Of course, she did not have a lock pick, her mother taking all her equipment before they started their nightly task. But, she supposed she could make do with her bobby pins, and she did.

Andi was thankful for a minute that the trolley tracks were even an option. If this had been New York, the rails would be lined with electrical wiring, making the trek through the tunnels more troublesome. However, with the wiring along the ceiling, the blonde girl was free to roam.

It worked out great, the rails acting as underground roads, relatively easy to navigate as she came across the next station. She remained vigilant as she continued her long journey. Another thing she was thankful for: the comfortable soles of her sneakers.

The tunnel grew dark as she wandered away from the lighting of the station. It was quiet aside from the light tap of her shoes hitting the ground.

Suddenly, she caught movement out of the corner of her eyes. A dark figure moving among the darkness. If she had been anyone else, she probably would have missed it, but she did not.

Andi needed to think quickly. She was between two stations and her quick and efficient means to get to her Point B was gone. She could fight or she could run. But, where would she run?

She stopped and took a half-step back, preparing to turn and run the way she had come. If she could make it back to the station before the assailant got to her, at least she could fight under the florescent lighting.

She took off into a full sprint before being stopped a few yards from the edge of the tunnel.

A hand grabbed onto her braid and yanked her backward. Andi stumbled but did not fall. She grabbed onto the wrist of her assailant and turned to them.

Distract them.

She spat in the masked figures exposed eyes, attempting to blind them momentarily. The grip on her braid relaxed and the young girl was able to break free. Assessing her attacker quickly, she determined that they were too tall for her to take on in her present condition. Visibility was low and Andi did not have anything to pack a punch. She needed to get back to the station and figure out another way to her Point B.

Andi kicked out, making contact with her attacker's knee and sending them to the ground. Once the attacker was at her level, she grabbed their head and kneed them before darting away. At full speed, she ran at the wall to climb out of the tracks. As she used all her might to pull herself up onto the platform, her assailant was up again.

Hands grabbed her legs and yanked her to the ground.

Air escaped the young girl's lungs as she hit the hard ground. The masked figure's hand wrapped around her neck but the girl did not give in. She kicked at their legs and clawed at their hands. When neither was working and her vision grew spotty, she moved her hands to claw at her attacker's face. Andi shoved her thumbs into the eyes of the unknown person, who pulled away from her reach.

When the assailant pulled back, Andi got enough leverage to strike at their throat. They backed up with a choking cough and Andi gasped for breath. The attacker recovered before she did, still incapacitated from her lack of air.

The figure loomed over her and removed the mask.

Looking down at her was none other than Lorraine Broughton. Andi was not surprised. Of course, it was her mother, who else would it be?

Andi breathed deeply, her neck already growing sore from the trauma. There were sure to be bruises there in the morning when she woke up.

Lorraine shook her head at her daughter. "It's good to have a plan, but when the situation goes south, you need to have a back-up in mind. You need to be able to think on your feet and adapt quickly. It could mean the difference between life and death."

* * *

The Arguello boy rounded a corner, backtracking until they came across a nook with some cabinets and barrels stacked around.

"There's got to be a way out," Marcus started, frantically looking around. "Like a hidden door or something." He walked to the wall and flipped the breaker, all the lights around them turning off.

"Well, that's helpful," Saya sassed as Marcus turned the lights back on. "Just keep searching. Petra and Viktor don't have long."

Andi scoffed. "That sounds a lot like you're gonna sacrifice yourself to Thing 1 and Thing 2."

"They have my katana," the Kuroki girl answered as if her words made everything make sense.

Andi groaned. "You don't know that! Lin could have your katana! Going in there without a plan and without backup... you'll die before you ever see that damn sword again!"

"Exactly! You're unarmed," Marcus said, backing up the blonde.

"Look, if I die trying to get it back, I'm good with that," Saya said. "At least it's an honorable death."

"Do you hear how insane you sound? All this 'honor' bullshit? It's a goddamn sword."

Saya steadied herself. "It was my father's. It's the only thing I have left."

"You're acting like going after your cousins and dying while trying to get your sword back is the only option. Your father wouldn't want you to be impulsive about this," Andi tried to reason. Sure, she did not know the former head of the Kuroki Syndicate, but if he was worth anything as a leader, then he had to be smart. Right now, Saya was _not_ being smart. She was being rash.

"We're not leaving you," Marcus said, speaking for the Broughton girl.

"They will slaughter you to get to me," Saya tried to argue, the hint of tears in her eyes. "I'm better off on my own."

"Ye of little faith," Andi said with a slight smile. Although, she was not very prepared for a fight with her present injuries. She would make do though because she needed to. "No one is better off on their own." Andi wondered for a moment if she was referring to Saya or herself.

Before they could continue, one of Saya's cousins harshly shoved Marcus to the side. He grunted as he hit the wall, leaving Saya and Andi standing to face the Kuroki assassins.

Andi flipped her knife, holding it up at the ready. The small space was not ideal, but she had to make it work. The assassins stepped forward and Andi made her move.

She went low, slicing at the masked man's knee, as he swung high. Both attacks missed their marks. Andi was quick to her feet despite the agony from her leg wound. It was not quick enough for the Kuroki assassin though who slammed the girl against the wall.

Andi's head whipped against the wall, her vision going fuzzy as she dropped to the floor beside Marcus. The last thing she saw before her eyes fluttered shut was Saya getting knocked out and carried away. "Saya," she whispered, but it was too late.


	27. chapter twenty-seven

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN**

**[**mortal combat**]**

**"i want to kick some kuroki ass"**

* * *

Simon leaned against the wall in the same hallway Maria's dorm was located. He managed to make the necessary arrangements that she requested as well as obtain an authentic-looking passport. All he needed to do was wait for her to walk by. In the meantime, he was playing it cool, pretending to skim some indie comic he _borrowed_ from Marcus the night before when they were all hanging out.

Finally, after a few minutes longer, Maria turned the corner. The Latina stuffed her hands in her pocket as she approached the Londoner who pushed off the wall to meet her. The two remained silent as they walked back the way Maria came to a quieter, more secluded area.

"Here," he said softly, handing her the comic with everything she needed inside. "Remember I was talking to you about this one? I thought you'd like to read it for yourself."

Maria took the thin book from his hands and gave a light laugh. "So now your stealing Marcus' stuff?"

Simon shrugged. "Maybe he isn't as lame as I first gave him credit for. Besides, if he starts looking for it and asking questions, I'll just blame it on Andi."

Maria shook her head in amusement as she opened the comic and saw the passport and paperwork inside. She looked back up at Simon, tears welling in her eyes, unable to speak her gratitude.

"You don't have to say anything," Simon started softly. "Just send me a postcard whenever you get where you're going... to let me know you're okay." He gave her one last comforting smile.

In a way, he wanted to cut the cord, to start trying to get over the beautiful girl in front of him now because her leaving was inevitable. With Chico locked up in the library, this was her shot to get as far away from Soto Vatos and that asshole as possible.

Before he could walk away, Maria reached out to him, her delicate hand clasping around his wrist. "Simon." Hearing her say his name in a gentle, accented voice almost hurt. He was stupidly head over heels for the one girl he could never have. His heart hurt to let her go, but he knew that it was for the best. Maybe he just loved the pain.

Simon turned back to Maria, the hint of a thankful smile on her red-painted lips. She signed and glanced around them before pushing herself up onto her tiptoes and giving him a light peck on the cheek. As she rested back on her heels, the dark-haired girl gave Simon's hand one last comforting squeeze. "Thank you," she said, holding back tears. "Without Andi, Saya, and especially you, I don't know how I would've gotten through all of this."

The taller boy gave her hand a comforting squeeze in return. "Don't doubt yourself. You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. You may not be as blatantly intimidating as Saya or as confrontational as Andi, but that doesn't make you any less capable. Sure, I'll worry about you when you leave. I can't help it. But, I know that you can take care of yourself. You're a survivor, Maria."

A single tear slipped down her cheek as Simon pulled his hand away from her grasp. She quickly wiped it away, mindful of her makeup. With one last look, Simon turned away down the hall as Maria watched him go, her hands fidgeting with the comic he gave her.

Simon did not look back as he continued back to his dorm. Lost in his own thoughts, he did not hear his name being called.

"Aster!" the heavily accented voice called. "Hey, wanker! I'm fucking—ugh, Aster!"

Simon scrunched his eyebrows and turned only to see Lex pushing past students to get up to him. "What, Lex?"

"I'm trying to give you this," the boy with the spiked hair said, holding out an envelope, his skateboard tucked under his other arm. Simon grabbed it from Lex's outstretched hand. "It's for Andi but since she's in detention today I'm giving it to you."

Simon shot him a confused look. "Why not just leave it at her dorm?"

"Oh, right, didn't think of that..." Lex started sarcastically. "No shit. But so soon after the whole Mellow Yellow incident, I thought it'd be best to avoid Brandy and the others for a bit."

"Aw, Lex. That doesn't sound like you," the taller boy teased. "Isn't it like your job to perpetually be a pain in everyone's ass?"

"Funny. But, I'm a little short on backup at the moment. Billy's MIA and Marcus and Petra are in detention too."

Simon sighed. "All right. Well, I'll make sure it gets to her." Lex hurried off on his skateboard, leaving Simon to examine the envelope again.

Andi never got mail. Her mother did not bother to keep in contact with her and anyone else she was even remotely close with was already at the school with her.

He looked over the envelope. The front was bare aside from Andi's name, just her first name "Andrea" so her whole identity was still unknown to anyone who might come across the piece of mail. When the Londoner flipped the envelope over, he hesitated, recognizing the symbol embedded in the wax seal.

An _Ouroboros_.

Simon gulped roughly, his nerves on edge. Without another thought, he quickly finished his walk back to his door room. This letter was not leaving his sight. As soon as Andi got out of detention, she needed to see this.

* * *

Andi's blue eyes fluttered open, her vision blurry as it refocused. Her body was cold, the hard concrete chilling her and eating away at her body heat as she laid unconscious on the floor. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her head from when Saya's Kuroki cousin decided to try to crack her skull off the wall, the blonde pulled herself onto her hands and knees.

Another body laid next to her in the basement hallway and it took her a moment to realize who it was. Crawling to him quickly, she rolled Marcus onto his back, checking his breathing and pulse to ensure his injuries were not fatal. Unconsciousness was typically not a great sign.

When she felt his faint breaths on her hand and the gentle thump of his pulse beneath her fingers, some of her initial worries melted away. Not all of them though. He still was not awake and Saya had just been snatched up by her crazy family to be taken back to Tokyo.

"Marcus," Andi tried, careful to keep her voice low but firm. "Marcus, you need to wake up. Saya needs us. We have to go." As she tried to get the Arguello boy to come to, something whispered in the back of her mind to just leave him. To leave him and go rescue Saya before it was too late. But, she could not just abandon him on the cold concrete. There was not a chance she would survive against both Kurokis alone. Even as untrained as Marcus still was, he could help. That is what she told herself anyway, not willing to admit that she would feel like such a piece of shit if she left him there and his condition worsened somehow. If that happened, she did not know if she would be able to forgive herself because she did, in fact, _care_ about him.

After only another minute of her talking to him, hoping that he would hear her and come to, his warm brown eyes finally opened to meet her cool blue ones.

"About time," she joked through the worry.

Marcus sat up slowly, remembering what happened. "Saya?" he questioned, concern littering his voice.

"I know," Andi replied. "If you're good enough, we gotta go. I want to kiss some Kuroki ass." Marcus nodded, wincing slightly at his own headache.

Standing from her spot next to him, Andi held out her hand to help him up. Once they were both steadily on their feet, they took off back down the hallway. Approaching the gate that had once separated them from their salvation when Chico locked them in the basement, they were relieved to see that the lock had been broken, the Kuroki's using the route to escape.

The two teens reached the end of the hallway and opened the door. On the other side was the Chinese restaurant that existed as one of the school's covers. They only had seconds to take in their surroundings, however, as Lin was locked into a standoff with the demon-masked duo.

Andi quietly darted into the kitchen, passing Marcus an iron skillet as she grabbed the knife that sat out on the cutting board. Hurrying back out into the dining room, Marcus launched himself off of a booth and slammed the skillet down onto the red-masked man's head, causing him to drop a limp Saya as he fell to the ground.

Saya woke in time to catch herself, her katana skittering to the floor a couple of feet away.

Lin, with his own sword, went after the other cousin. The two were quite equally matched and that worried Andi. She had never seen someone give Master Lin such a run for his money. Her dark-haired friend also trying her best to remain in one piece.

Andi and Marcus stood helplessly to the side, hopelessly and hilariously out-_sworded_ in a fight where razor-sharp blades were flying around. Finally, Andi saw her opening.

The blonde ran up behind Lin, calling for him to duck as she threw the butcher's knife she had been wielding. It did not hit its mark, but she had been expecting that. The black-masked man dodged out of the way, narrowly avoiding the flying knife. While he was distracted and thrown off balance, Andi jumped onto a nearby table and threw a kick to his face.

Again, he blocked her, recovering quicker than her usual sparring partners did. Though Lin was right beside her, attacking the man again just as he had focused his attention on the blonde teen.

Out of the corner of her eye, Andi could see Marcus had jumped in to help Saya, but she did not allow herself to focus on them. She was more concerned with her own deadly opponent.

The fight came to a halt as a strangled cry rang out through the restaurant. Andi heard Saya's labored exhale and the shrill unsheathing of her blade accompanying the other sounds. Monks rushed the room and the black-masked man swiped once more before jumping past Andi and Lin and running out the front door.

Andi finally allowed herself to look back at Saya and Marcus only to see Saya's blood-coated katana and her cousin's dying form fall to the floor. Saya stood as Andi moved toward her. The Kuroki girl stepped forward and pulled the red mask from her cousin's face.

Saya looked down on him for only a few seconds before her face scrunched up, desperately trying to hold back the tears. Andi rested her hand comfortingly on her friend's shoulder as Saya let out a loud sniffle and wiped at her face.

Andi wanted to comfort her friend. The blonde knew what it was like to lose someone close to her. She knew the pain that came with it. She wanted to be there for the Kuroki girl and help her grieve. But, this was different.

Sure, Andi had lost loved ones before, but she had never been the one to kill them. The blonde knew families could be complicated; that was one thing she _did_ understand. Although the Kuroki Syndicate, and family alike, was rampant with discord and power struggles, it did not necessarily mean that there also was not affection and respect.

Saya could not be in the room anymore, not that Andi blamed her. Without another word, she walked back toward the basement halls, eager to distance herself from the scene.

Andi and Marcus exchanged a look, both wanting to do something, _anything_, to help their friend. It was only when Marcus nodded that Andi moved to follow her.

"You go," he said. "I'll talk to Lin and the monks about getting Petra and Vik to the infirmary."

The blonde nodded back to him with a tight smile. She thanked him but wasted no more time trailing after her friend.

* * *

**Thank you again, everyone, for your continued support of this story!**

**To the Guest reviewer from the last chapter, I wanted to say that yes, this story is also on Wattpad with a handful of others. I'm currently working to have both platforms carry my stories.**

**Let me know what you think!**


	28. chapter twenty-eight

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT**

**[**as good as strangers**]**

**"don't cut me out of your life"**

* * *

Andi sat on the rooftop, wringing her hands together as she stared at the once white, now bloodstained pair of converse on her feet. Saya stood a few feet away at the edge of the roof, desperately clinging to the bottle of booze the two had swiped on the way up.

After the fight in the restaurant was over and the adrenaline finally started to leave Andi's system, the blonde became all too aware of her injuries. Her leg was sliced at the calf, dripping blood down her leg and making it difficult to walk without a limp, although she managed. Her head throbbed from when the Kurokis knocked her unconscious. She was sure she had at least a minor concussion, which only upset her more because it meant that she would have to stay awake longer when all her body craved was rest.

In fact, drinking alcohol was a big no-no too. Fuck it. She had been through some shit tonight.

She was thankful that she did not wear any of her favorite clothes since everything she had on was going in the trash as soon as the opportunity arose. Saya had pushed her to go to the infirmary originally, but the blonde girl refused.

Viktor and Petra needed the full attention of the school's medical staff. She could wait.

Saya passed the bottle to Andi who took a long swig before handing it back. She was more than willing to numb her pain with alcohol for the time being, although she was careful not to drink too much because Saya definitely needed it more.

Their silence was interrupted as Marcus greeted them.

"Hey," he said, walking closer to the two with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "You don't have to talk about it."

"Good," Saya answered shortly while Andi held back her smart remark. That's kind of why they weren't talking, she thought. However, she was tired and being a bitch took more effort than she could muster.

"But," Marcus started again, taking a seat next to the blonde girl. He sighed, "Today was crazy fucked up. So if you did want to..."

Saya twisted the bottle in her hand, her words slurred. Although, Andi could not quite tell if it was from the booze or the tears the dark-haired girl was choking back. "I was just thinking about what a dick my cousin was." Andi gave a fond smile and let out a light chuckle while Marcus looked on confused. Saya stepped back from the ledge and continued. "Sparred with him my whole life. He was two feet taller than me and never went easy."

"Here," Marcus muttered, holding out his hand for the bottle. Saya relented, handing him the half-full bottle. "Not really a fair fight."

"The humiliation was supposed to make me better," Saya replied.

"Did it?" he asked as he took a sip.

Saya sighed, "Yeah."

The Kuroki girl sat down on Andi's other side as the blonde spoke up for the first time. "The unfair fights are the ones you learn the most from, the ones that stick with you."

"The fucked up part is that I think he was harder on me than my brother because he wanted me to be great." Saya paused. "I hated him for it, but it worked." She paused again and Andi watched as she choked back a sob, swallowing hard. Her next words were rougher although her outward appearance remained stoic. "I didn't think it was gonna feel this way."

"It's not supposed to feel good," Marcus replied.

Andi nodded her head. "Yeah, I mean, he was your family, regardless of what happened between the two of you in the past. At the end of the day, remember that he was just a pawn of the Syndicate, remember who was really behind all of this, who pitted the two of you against each other. If your cousin wanted you to be great, despite everything that happened tonight, I'm sure he'd be proud of you, even honored."

The blonde had no idea if her words were actually comforting, but every one of them was from the heart. Andi and her mother did not have the best relationship, but that did not mean that if something happened to Lorraine that she would just be okay with it. She would be devastated if something happened to her mother. Apparently, her words were at least a little comforting as the Kuroki girl leaned over to rest her head on the blonde's shoulder.

Andi gently placed her hand on top of Saya's, the only comforting touch she was sure the other girl would accept.

The group sat in silence again for a moment before Andi held her hand out for the bottle. Marcus passed it to her and she lifted it to her mouth and took another sip.

Marcus' eyes were drawn to her raised arm. "You're bleeding still," he said, catching her attention.

Andi lowered the bottle and handed it to Saya who lifted her head from the blonde's shoulder to look at the wound as well. The blonde sighed in irritation. Yet another reason why drinking probably was not the best idea; alcohol makes you bleed more.

"Shit," she said, the bloodstain on her tattered long-sleeve shirt growing as the once clotted injury reopened. "I didn't even realize with everything going on. It probably needs stitches."

Saya stood up again, "You should go to the infirmary now. Enough time has passed that they should have Petra and Vik stable."

Andi nodded and stood to walk away, wincing as she put pressure on her injured leg for the first time since coming up to the roof. Saya nodded at her leg, "You should probably get that checked too. And your head."

"Thank you mother," the blonde quipped sarcastically, continuing toward the stairwell.

Just as she opened the door, she heard Marcus call out. "Hey, wait up."

She sighed, not willing to have this conversation right now. She glanced at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

The Latino boy shrugged. "Figured you'd never ask for help but I may as well offer it to you anyway."

"Alright, come on," she relented. He helped her down the stairs, making sure that she did not lose her balance and dive headfirst down the concrete steps. Once they reached the ground floor and began the rest of their walk to the infirmary, Marcus spoke up again.

"What changed between yesterday and today? What happened between us?"

Andi was too exhausted—and possibly intoxicated—to dodge questions and give half-truths, so instead she was honest. Maybe even brutally so.

"You scare me like no one else ever has, Marcus."

He seemed taken aback by her answer but let her continue. "We moved so quickly and I had to hit the brakes because I was losing control. And when you lose control, you crash. I don't regret anything. That night at Shabnam's was great. I just—I can't pretend like I've known you for years and let down all of my guards with you so easily. Not when I've been trained to do the exact opposite. I like you, but maybe we just need to be friends before we can be anything more."

His silence at her statement told her enough. She desperately wanted the conversation to end there, but once she started talking, she could not hold back the word vomit.

"We went into this blindly, trying to convince ourselves that we were more than just strangers to each other. Whether you want to admit it or not, I have to be honest with myself for once. For so long I shied away from any attachment, liking anyone or even loving them, that when I met you I could tell you felt that same loneliness and longing to just... _be_ with someone.

"Then, last night, you tell me that you _see_ me, but how? How can you see through me when you don't even know me?"

Andi stopped just down the hall from their destination, turning to look Marcus in the eyes. They glimmered with hurt at her words, but deep down, he knew they were true. The emotions from the past twenty-four hours had built up inside her and now the dam was collapsing.

Salty tears welled up in the corner of her narrowed eyes. "I can be cruel and emotionless, a little psychotic at times. Do you see that? That's a part of me too. Not all of it is some show that I put on for the assholes at this school. Some of that is _me_. There is a darkness in me that has been there since before I ever set foot in King's Dominion, and it may never disappear."

Marcus pulled away from her, "So that's it then? You're just going to push me away entirely? We can be friends, Andi. If that is all we can be, for just right now or forever—we can be friends. Just don't cut me out of your life. Please."

I don't even know if I could do that if I tried, Andi thought, although she did not dare utter those words aloud. "Okay," she muttered under her breath.

They stood in the empty hallway, less than a foot of distance between them. Distance that Andi put there. After a second, Andi leaned in, wrapping her arms around Marcus' waist and burying her face in his chest. She felt his arms cradle her gently as if trying not to break the fragile girl even more.

Andi was a girl at war with herself. One part of her was stone cold, pushing everyone away so she could never get hurt. However, she was too late. She had already been hurt and the other part of her was desperately searching for someone to pick up the pieces of her life and help her put it back together. She was desperate for someone to love her, while at the same time being afraid of what that meant.

* * *

Andi had been stuck in the infirmary all night. The staff stitched up her cuts on her arm and leg and confirmed her suspected concussion, which is why they wanted to monitor her throughout the rest of the night and into the early morning hours.

She returned to her dorm as others were waking up to get ready for their days. Thankfully, it was Sunday and the blonde could ignore the responsibility of her classwork for another day.

Stumbling into her room, she noted Brandy's absence and sent a silent thank you to whatever higher power provided a semblance of organization to the worldly chaos. She shed the gray sweatshirt, pants, and thin slippers that the infirmary provided for her after they cut her shirt to shreds to treat her wounded arm. Actually, they provided the whole iconic look to her when they trashed her clothes into a biohazard bin due to all of the blood.

Kicking the clothes aside with her good leg, she changed into her pajamas, fully prepared to sleep until Monday morning. Unfortunately, those plans were squashed as her door swung open.

"Excuse me, bitch. Don't you know how to knock?" she said, watching Simon approach her from the door.

"No," he retorted quickly. "Besides, if I did knock, would you have answered?"

"Absolutely not. Now, can you please fuck off? Whatever you have to tell me can wait," she practically growled rolling over to face the wall, trying to the tall boy's presence.

"Actually, it can't wait," he said, tossing the envelope that Lex had given him onto her stomach.

Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the light tap of the envelope hitting her. She begrudgingly opened her eyes and sat up, shooting Simon a glare before her eyes fell to what he threw on her.

She picked up the envelope with just her name scrawled on the front and as she turned it over Simon spoke up. "It came for you yesterday while you were in detention." Her eyes finally rested on the Ouroboros figure outlined in the wax seal and her entire body went rigid. "Figured it was pretty damn important and best not to wait," he told her sternly.

Forcing her hands to move, Andi popped the seal and opened the letter cautiously. Who knew what was inside? It could be filled with poison or something else that was equally dangerous. She was only somewhat relieved to see only paper inside.

She pulled out the paper, a takeout menu from the Chinese restaurant that they just fought the Kuroki cousins in the night before. Hesitantly, she opened the menu. Her breath caught at the familiar, messy writing.

_See ya soon, Blondie!_

_\- A_


	29. chapter twenty-nine

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE**

**[**stress relief**]**

**"i'm long overdue to get fucked up"**

* * *

● **warning: (for flashback) graphic depictions of torture and violence from/against children ●**

* * *

Over the course of the week, Andi decided to take it easy for once. She had been correct in her assumptions that she had sustained a concussion from having her head smashed into a brick wall, naturally. Both her arm and her leg wound had also been stitched up.

The doctors at the school's infirmary were pleased with how her injuries were healing. They even said she could get the stitches removed after the weekend. The blonde was happy with the news. The quicker her injuries healed, the quicker things could return to normal for her.

Aside from _physically_ taking it easy, Andi was—mentally and emotionally—_stressed_.

The stupid, teasing letter from Abaddon was consistently at the forefront of her mind. She had not felt so weak and vulnerable since she was thirteen years old. It was not as if she did not realize that Abaddon had been watching her, or even that he was in San Francisco. She did. But, now that she was facing the possibility of coming confrontation with him, she was terrified.

She was on edge. Over the week, her nerves settled slightly as each day passed with no sign of him, but she was still on edge. Paranoia was eating away at her. So, when Saya mentioned Vegas, her answer was almost immediate.

Andi needed this trip. She needed the distraction. She needed to get out of the city where she felt her tormentor's eyes on her everywhere.

When the blonde asked Saya who else was going, the Kuroki girl started to list people off: Maria, Willie, Simon, Billy... Marcus. The dark-haired girl seemed reluctant to mention the Arguello boy and Andi did hesitate when he was included in the list, although it was not at all surprising that he was.

She and Marcus were _awkward_. For the first few days after their emotional confrontation, they avoided each other. Not because they were mad or upset, but because they wanted to give each other space and time to process everything so that they could start over. When they finally did begin to hang out again, their interactions were stiff and almost robotic, doing what they thought the other wanted or needed, not what was natural. However, by the end of the week, they had some sort of understanding with each other to be civil and not... weird with each other.

They were still working on that last part though, hence the _awkward_.

Andi needed the trip though, and she and Marcus were still on good terms despite everything, so she agreed to tag along. If worse came to worse, she had Maria, Saya, and Simon to distract herself with instead.

* * *

The group was too large to pile into one car, so Willie, Marcus, and Billy all rode in Willie's red convertible while the girls all opted to ride together in Simon's Mustang.

Andi sat beside Simon in the front passenger seat, her feet kicked up on the dash, her window cracked to allow the smoke from her cigarette to escape. Her legs were left exposed to the cool night air in the denim shorts she wore, while her arms were protected by her long-sleeve thermal.

Sunglasses covered her eyes, protecting them from the brightness of the sunrise on the horizon. She was not a morning person, but it was imperative that they leave in the early morning hours in order to sneak out of King's for the weekend. That did not mean she had to like it though.

Maria, Saya, and Simon chatted animatedly about how they planned to spend their time in Vegas. But, first, they needed drugs. Lots of drugs.

Simon huffed as Saya told him where to go for the drugs, ever the straightedge.

Sitting up to pull her hair into a high ponytail, Andi let out a short laugh, "Oh, Simon. This is just karma. We're gonna get fucked up and you're going to finally make up for all the times we had to play DD for your drunk ass."

The Londoner scoffed, "Just because I'm not getting coked up like the rest of you, doesn't mean I'm not gonna drink. So I guess we're walking everywhere when we get to Vegas."

"Boooo!" all the girls yelled at him but he simply waved them off.

Saya and Maria laughed yet agreed with Andi enthusiastically from the backseat. "This is gonna be fucking awesome," Saya said. "It'll be so sweet not to have to babysit all of you."

"I take offense to that," Maria gasped jokingly. "I mother them just as much as you do." Andi wanted to defend herself, but she really did not have anything to say so she simply shrugged at the statement knowing that her friends always looked out for her.

"Yeah, when Chico didn't drag you off."

Andi set her feet on the floor of the car and turned in her seat to look back at her other two friends. "Speaking of the devil spawn himself, where does he think you are this weekend?"

Maria grew quiet for a moment before answering. "It doesn't matter. I'll deal with him when I get back. For now, I'm going to enjoy this freedom." The blonde narrowed her eyes at Maria's remark as something inkling in the back of her mind told her she should be worried.

Simon glanced at the Latina through the rearview mirror and her eyes connected with his through the glass. He knew what she was planning. He knew that she meant to make her escape last week, but her plans were ruined when Chico busted out of detention early. Now was her chance.

Saya and Andi were not obvious to the heavy look shared between their two friends. It was no secret that the two had always had a flirtation with each other. And regardless of the fact that Maria was in a very unhealthy relationship with her psychotic boyfriend, they knew Simon was in love with her.

The other two girls always suspected that there was more there than flirtation on Maria's side as well, but the girl was too terrified to do anything, practically being held hostage by Chico.

The look between Simon and Maria did not last long though, the boy's eyes returning to the road once again. Andi eyed her best friend beside her, wishing he would just make his move. This trip was the perfect opportunity. She was away from Chico, her abuser. She was there to enjoy herself and let go; be free like she has always wanted.

Simon did not meet the blonde's inquisitive gaze. His eyes remained locked on the long stretch of road, his hands gripping the steering wheel a little tighter.

"What about you, Andi?" Maria asked.

Andi quirked an eyebrow behind her glasses. "What about _me_, Maria?"

The curly-haired girl laughed lightly. "You and Marcus... How's it going? Being 'just friends' and all?"

The blonde took a deep breath. "It's alright. I just needed some room to breathe. I felt like I was suffocating from all of it." Simon finally glanced at her, giving her an understanding look. "I'm just not used to it."

"Used to what?" Saya asked, curiously.

"People caring."

Maria leaned forward, reaching over the seat to place a hand on her friend's shoulder. "_We_ care about you," she stated confidently.

Andi felt a small smile tug at her lips at the comforting words. It was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "I know. But, it's just different with Marcus. I mean, I've known you guys for years and only recently came to terms with seeing you guys as _friends_.Besides, we moved _way_ too fast. I barely know him. It was time to hit the brakes and get to know each other better. This week has been iffy, but yesterday we had a nice talk over lunch. Felt as close to natural as can be expected, I guess."

Maria spoke again, "So you still like him then?"

"Of course I do, but I'm not ready for a relationship right now. I've got too many other things to worry about."

"Like what?" Saya asked, chiming in.

Simon glanced at Andi once again, and Maria saw the worry in his eyes. It was something that Saya could not see from her spot behind him. It made the Salazar girl wonder what happened recently that Andi was not talking about. It hurt her a little that Andi was facing her problems alone, even though she understood the reluctance to share. It was just that after the blonde had finally let Maria in a couple of weeks ago, it seemed like their friendship was taking a step backward. Andi was there for her through a lot. Maria just wanted to return the favor.

Andi quickly covered the glimpse of anxiety that brushed through her mind. "Like... making this weekend our bitch! Now, where the hell is this hippie caravan you were talking about? I'm long overdue to get fucked up."

Saya laughed, and although Maria and Simon knew there was something else on Andi's mind that she was keeping to herself, they laughed too.

* * *

**Four Years Ago – Unknown Location**

_Andi bit her tongue to hold back the scream that she desperately wanted to release. The sharp edge of the scalpel dug into her upper back between her shoulder blades, carving the sixth tally mark onto her porcelain skin. She tasted the iron of blood in her mouth at the same moment she felt the small trickle of it leave the new open wound on her back. The red droplets rolled down her back and along her spine sending an uncomfortable chill through her entire being._

_She had to give it to Abaddon. He knew what he was doing._

_Despite being only a couple of years older, he was fully capable of overpowering the twelve-year-old with little effort. Sure, Andi was not completely defenseless, but that was also while dealing with the average thug or asshole. Abaddon was exceptional in the worst possible ways, even more deadly and trained than she was prepared for._

_The pain subsided as the boy withdrew the blade from her skin, walking around where she was strapped to the chair to face her._

_"Well, you're certainly lasting a lot longer than I expected," he started with a sickening grin on his angular face. "Six days and not a peep out of you about where your mother is. I'm honestly impressed."_

_His teasing gaze looked over her bruised and beaten body and stopped briefly at the mark he left on her left upper thigh. A roughly cut 'A' lingered just under the hem of her short cotton shorts, looking particularly angry and red with the surrounding flesh growing dark due to the trauma. _It is definitely going to scar_, he thought with terrifying glee._

_Overall, Abaddon was proud of his work. His masterpiece of black and blue and red._

_However, just because he enjoyed the artistry, did not mean that his mission was complete. He was still a failure as far as he was concerned. He would be until he got the information that he came for—the location of Lorraine Broughton. And to be a failure, well, that just was not an option for him._

_Andi half-ignored his words. Almost a week had past and she was beginning to feel less like a hostage and more like a science experiment for this sadistic prick. After the initial cut, the pain in her back quickly dissipated. No, it was not gone. It simply blended in with the rest of her aching body._

_She wanted to take a deep breath, to center herself and refocus on how to get the hell out of this horrible situation she found herself in. But every time she tried to take a breath, her chest ignited in fiery pain, most likely alluding to her several broken ribs. Every time she tried to clench her fists, she winced and remembered her missing fingernails that matched her missing toenails. Every time she blinked, she shuddered at the pain from her fractured and bruised right orbital._

_Andi was waiting for her chance, biding her time. She needed to work through the haze she was in and figure out what the fuck she was going to do. Six days was all he was going to get with her. He had six days to break her and nothing to show for it. He may have succeeded physically, but she would never give the psycho the satisfaction of complete success._

_"What can I say?" she started with a wry smirk. "I'm nothing if not loyal, I guess."_

_Abaddon let out a light chuckle at her sarcastic remark. "Yes. Loyal. Like a dog. A _bitch,_ if you will." His pleasant tone turned hard, the crazy leaking out, as he grew more frustrated. "You know what else bitches do?" he asked, leaning forward to whisper the question in her ear. Andi glared at him out of the corner of her eyes, not saying a word. He pulled back and grasped her sore jaw in his left hand, forcing her eyes to connect with his. He smiled a wolfish grin, masking his unbridled anger and mania. "They _beg_." Without hesitation, his right hand shot forward, embedding the scalpel into her abdomen._

_Andi unleashed a blood-curdling scream, the white-hot pain blossoming unexpectedly to the left of her bellybutton. The blade twisted and was dragged toward her side causing the young girl to cry out in excruciating agony. She could focus on nothing else but the searing in her stomach but she did understand his next mumbled words._

_"Beg for me to stop. It can all stop if you just tell me where your mother is."_

_With those words, Andi knew that this was it. This was the end. Not for her, but for him. There would not be a seventh tally because she was getting out of this no matter what._

* * *

**Definitely a dark ending to this chapter, but I felt like it was necessary to get a little insight into the trauma that Abaddon put her through. He didn't just lull her into a false sense of security by being her friend and then betray her. He also physically tortured her and put her through the worst experience of her life and it's all the more heinous and disgusting because they're both kids. She's only twelve years old and he's only fourteen and they're in this twisted world where kids are trained—and effective—killers. The world of Deadly Class is twisted, not just animated, acid-trip clowns, pearls of KGB wisdom, and Breakfast Club parallels.**

**I also wanted to display some of that darkness leading into the next few chapters and Andi's inevitable confrontation with Abaddon who will be making an appearance in Vegas along with the other resident assholes such as Chico and Fuckface. With Abaddon's reemergence in Andi's life, we'll see a darker, more severe version of her that is much less angelic and much more demonic in a way.**

**Despite the subject material, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and some of the joking between friends as their trip to Sin City begins. ****Thanks for the continued support!**


	30. chapter thirty

**CHAPTER THIRTY**

**[**bunk drugs**]**

**"ooh, free samples!"**

* * *

● **warning: drug use/abuse **●

* * *

Simon pulled his car into a rest stop parking lot filled to the brim with hippies. It was surprising that they had not begun to spill into the roadway.

"Damn," Andi said, looking out into the sea of flower power. "Is there a Grateful Dead concert tonight or something?"

Maria and Saya laughed lightly from the backseat. "Has to be," Simon replied. "This has to be the largest congregation of hippies since Woodstock."

Saya leaned forward as Simon parked the car, while Willie, Billy, and Marcus pulled up next to them. "Please tell me you're not a Deadhead," Marcus groaned in disdain while Simon looked appalled by the accusation.

"Excuse you, _Marcus_. I was only following Saya's directions to stop here!"

Marcus turned his accusing gaze to Saya in the backseat. The Kuroki girl rolled her eyes, "Hippies congregate here when they're not following Jerry Garcia's foul taint around." Andi and Maria scrunched up their noses at the disgusting visual. Saya quickly got out of the car, waiting for everyone to follow but no one did. "Hippies have drugs," she almost snapped at them.

"Ah!" Maria and Andi responded, understanding what she was getting at.

Willie stepped out of the driver's seat of the red convertible and everybody else followed suit. Pushing the driver's seat up so he could climb out of the backseat, Billy gave Saya a questioning look, "Since when do you partake?"

Saya narrowed her eyes and smirked at the green-haired boy. "I grew up Yakuza. I managed a champagne club before I was thirteen. Hard-core, not some rookie-hour, baby bullshit you pansies get up to."

Andi restrained a laugh as Billy playfully mocked Saya behind her back, making Maria reach over and smack him. She turned toward Marcus and Willie who looked very impressed, if maybe a little disbelieving, at Saya's accomplishments.

"Give us your money," the blonde said firmly. When Marcus raised an eyebrow at her and hesitated, Saya spoke up once again.

"You can't trust these crunchy fuckers." Andi nodded in agreement.

Marcus did not give in though, confident in his own drug-buying abilities. Well, overconfident. "You don't think I can tell if someone is selling me bunk drugs?"

All three girls immediately responded with an "mm-mm" and were not afraid to let Marcus know their lack of faith in him.

Andi held out her hand yet again. "Why don't you let us deal with it?"

"Yeah, we'll take care of our own score," Marcus denied, causing Andi to drop her outstretched hand.

"Whatever," the blonde shrugged turning around. Saya flipped him the finger as Maria laughed at her friend's antics. With that, the three girls left to score some actual, quality drugs.

In no time at all, Saya managed to score the three of them some coke and they still had money to spare. They quickly ducked into a bathroom where Maria pulled out a mirror from her pocket and set it on the counter. Saya took the eight ball of coke and sprinkled some of it onto the mirror before cutting it and making three lines with a card she had.

Maria did her line first before passing the rolled-up bill to Andi so she could take her turn. "I won the mirror at the state fair throwing balls at a toothless meth head," Maria explained as the blonde snorted her line of cocaine. "Perfect, right?"

Andi pulled back, wiping at her nose and sniffing again to make ensure she got the full effect. Saya laughed as the blonde handed the rolled-up bill to her. "It really nails the shitty dive-bar coke-break ambiance," the Japanese girl joked.

"Mm-hmm," the other two girls agreed as Saya did her line. The Kuroki girl pulled back looking at the other two girls as they all laughed.

"You are so my best friends. Do you know that?" Saya said with a wide grin stretched across her face.

"Yes!" Andi practically squealed as she pulled bother girls into an awkward but loving hug.

They pulled back and Maria reached out and grabbed on to Saya's face, "Oh, totally! You are so goddamn cool!" She pulled back only to do the same thing to Andi, "You too!"

Saya finished her line while Maria coated her fingertip with powder and rubbed it across her gums, enhancing her high further.

Again, the girls all giggled with each other as their highs set in, unable to help their excitable nature. More hugs and touchy-feely moments were exchanged as they enjoyed what Saya was able to score them. None of them had a single care in the world.

* * *

Meanwhile, Simon had stuck with the rest of the guys as they journeyed through the commune to score some drugs of their own.

"Mom said hippies is what you get in a godless society," Willie started and Simon let out a noise of agreement. These were not his people. There was a lingering scent that smelled like weed mixed with shitty incense mixed with body odor. The Londoner was focusing a lot on breathing through his mouth to try and not get another whiff of it.

Simon was used to structure—to an extreme extent. His dad was an MI-6 man and whenever Simon was home and not at King's, his dad ran the house like a tight ship. The 'freedom' of King's was about all he could deal with without causing his anxiety to bubble to the surface. He could let loose, but not _too_ loose. The hippies were just too much and he was ready to hit the road again.

"Your mom, the gang leader?" Marcus retorted in confusion.

Willie snickered. "Ain't nobody tossing up devil sticks in the hood."

"You're mom's right," Billy agreed. "A bunch of stinky, nomadic stragglers following a terrible band committed to an empty cause." The group continued to weave through the thickening crowd of peace signs and braided beards. Simon felt his chest tighten and started clenching and unclenching his fists. "You believe that story Saya told?"

"Yes," Simon answered shortly as he and Willie followed Marcus and Billy's lead. Out of the four of them, he knew Saya the best, as Andi was their mutual friend despite the separation of the cliques at King's. She was intense and severe and after doing some digging, he realized that it was not all just for show. She had been through the wringer.

"I heard Lin's really her dad, and if she don't get valedictorian, he'll kill her," Willie offered up to the group.

Simon recoiled at the ridiculous rumor. "What? That is without a doubt not true. Who told you that?"

Willie shrugged, "It's just things I hear in the halls."

"Well, it's wrong. They're not even the same nationality, mate. Saya's Japanese and Lin's Chinese."

Marcus nodded along with Simon and looked at Willie over his shoulder, "You're an idiot."

Billy shrugged, "Just saying. Sneaking off, hanging with us, drugs?"

"'Us?'" Willie questions. "Saya's hear to get with me. Soon as she found out y'all roped me into this, she was packing a bag."

Simon shook his head, "Or maybe, y'know, some of us were friends with Saya before you guys and she's here for us. The 'us' being me, Maria, and Andi, by the way… in case there was any confusion."

"Her family just tried to kidnap her, I don't think hooking up is a priority," Marcus responded.

"Exactly. If anything, she's here for a distraction," the Londoner agreed. "You guys with your rumors and gossip. You're worse than the girls are, honestly."

"Yo, I heard she killed her cousin," Willie whispers and Marcus shares a look of apprehension with Simon, neither sure if the truth is common knowledge nor if they were free to confirm Willie's statement.

"Heavy topic, rife with drama. Let's pick this up by next session," Billy rushed out as he approached a blonde hippie who playing guitar in the door of a festively painted bus and giving him bedroom eyes.

Simon kept his lip from curling in distaste. The three watched him walk over to her and Simon could not keep his remark to himself. "He's going to catch something. I'm sure of it."

They turned to continue their hunt when a hippie with a knit hat and a tie-dyed shirt intercepted their path. Although, Simon supposed that described half the people around them.

"Doses, brother?" he asked the three of them.

"Doses?" Willie repeated, confused.

"Acid. You want to buy some acid?" Marcus looked to Simon and Willie who both stared at him as if he was crazy. Honestly, he probably was... at least a little bit. "One hundred bucks a sheet."

Marcus reached into his front pocket and pulled out a hundred bucks, handing it to the man, barely even looking at him. "Here." The man traded him the money for the acid.

"Sweet," he said before wandering back off into the throng of rainbow colors.

Marcus held a square out to Willie and Simon. "You want to drop acid?"

"Hell, no," the two taller boys responded.

"It melts your brain," Willie continued. "You ever done that shit before?"

"Me? I'm the acid king," Marcus said, placing the square on his tongue and letting it dissolve.

Simon scoffed. "Oh, okay." He started back toward the cars, Willie and Marcus trailing behind. "I bet it's bunk as fuck!"

* * *

Simon, Willie, and Marcus waiting in the bar for the girls to meet up with them. As Andi approached them with the other girls, she noticed they all looked particularly mopey.

Andi plopped down into the seat across from Marcus while Saya took the spot on her lap. "Ready to have the best fun ever?" the Kuroki girl asked them all excitedly as Andi hugged her tightly around the waist.

"Damn skippy," Willie replied, his voice devoid of any actual enthusiasm.

Maria took the seat between the girls and Marcus. "You're so uptight all the time. Have fun, unwind, Marcus. Be yourself," she scolded him before ruffling his hair playfully.

"I—yeah, okay," he agreed.

Maria remained close to him, only inches away from his face. "I want this to be fun. I want to have fun with you, _guapo_. Do you want to have fun?" she asked him, repeatedly poking his chest.

"Sure," Marcus dragged out. "Usually fun has less aggressive chest poking… or none." Andi exchanged a quick glance with Simon. Despite the high she was currently lost in, she still managed to feel a prick of jealousy wash over her, which she quickly pushed away. She had no right to be jealous when she and Marcus were just friends. Besides, everyone pretty much agreed that Maria was into Simon.

However, if that was true, then why did Maria almost kiss Marcus his first night at King's?

Andi was pulled away from the dark hole she was about to fall down when Saya pulled Marcus's attention to her. The last thing the blonde needed was a bad trip.

"We found a guy with some real primo shit," Saya told him seriously, and Maria agreed. "Give me your money."

Marcus glanced away from her and scratched at his eyebrow, before turning back to her, poorly hidden guilt evident on his face. Andi looked from Marcus to Willie and then to Simon.

"You've got to be kidding me?" the blonde started.

Saya's eyes widened in realization as her scolding began. "I warned you about these crunchy hippies and their bunk drugs, and you didn't listen to me. And now you've thrown all your money away."

"Wasn't that a Mother Goose tale?" Maria wondered aloud.

"Mm, well, Maria, Andi, and I got enough for the three of us, but you, the little piggy who built his house with bunk drugs, gets to enjoy the rest of the trip sober."

Marcus smirked at her before his eyes shifted behind Saya to Andi. The blonde stuck out her bottom lip in a pout and trailed her finger from her eye, down her cheek, as if tracing a tear. "So sad," she mouthed mockingly.

"We'll see," he said, standing from his seat to walk up to the bar. The table watched as he tried, and failed, to score even a drink. He sat back down at the table in an even worse mood, yet Andi could not contain her laughter.

"I'd offer to help, but you prefer to score for yourself," Saya teased.

"Oh my god. He shot you down so fast. Lemme see your fake," Andi told him, reaching past Saya and waiting for him to put the laminated card in her hand.

Begrudgingly, he did, although he regretted it soon after when her laughter grew louder. "This is your fake?" she asked him, tears forming in the corners of her eyes at the hilariously bad fake ID. It was literally laminated printer paper. "Why? Just why? You go to a school with a bunch of killers and criminals and you never thought to ask for a better fake? Oh, Marcus… sweetie…" He reached back over the table and snatched it out of her hand.

"Haha, it's hilarious. I know," he agreed sarcastically. However, a genuine smile did threaten to turn up the corners of his mouth as he saw how genuinely happy the blonde was.

"Whenever we get back, I'm having Simon get you a new one."

Simon agreed as he took a sip from his beer.

Suddenly, another hippie approached the group at their table. This one wore a bandana and a pair of worn overalls. Again, describing the other half of the hippie population around them. "Hey, hey. I heard you kind folks are looking for some doses. I got some real good windowpane blotter for you, my little sun stars, that'll get you centered so you can experience this harmonious trip on starship Earth."

Marcus looked far from amused with the guy's hippie-dippie bullshit. And everyone watched on as he expressed his feelings. "Get out of here with your bunk drugs, jelly hippie."

"Wow… you need to chill way out, man." Saya, Andi, and Maria nodded in agreement. "This stuff is good. It's real, uh, visual. Hey, I got ten hits right here. So you try them out, and if you like them, I'll come back, and then maybe you can buy some."

The hippie place the sheet on the table and Andi reached forward excitedly exclaiming, "Ooh, free samples!" She tore off a sheet for herself and then offered one to Simon, who declined. She then passed them up to Saya who ripped off two sheets for herself and Willie.

Willie tried to deny one too but Saya grabbed his face and put the sheet in his mouth before he could protest further. "C'mon man," he complained, looking at Saya, betrayed.

"No worries, Willie." Marcus comforted as Maria took her square. "We've already been burned once today. Fuck your sham drugs," he said to the hippie before placing the other six squares onto his tongue.

The rest of the group stared at him in a mix of awe and concern, but mostly concern.

"Whoa," the hippie breathed out. "Well… good luck, man." His words did little to comfort the group of teens.

"Dude, that was six hits," Saya told him.

Marcus began to worry as everyone continued to stare at him. "It—it was probably bunk, right?"

Maria smiled at him, "You better hope so."

Andi leaned forward, making eye contact with the supposed 'Acid King', "It was nice knowing ya."

* * *

**Hey everyone t****hanks for the continued support! Make sure to follow, favorite, and review to let me know what you think!**


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